Early general elections were held in Lesotho on 3 June 2017 to elect all 120 seats of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament. The elections were called more than three years ahead of schedule due to a successful vote of no confidence against the incumbent Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili."Lesotho to hold general election on June 3", Africanews, 13 March 2017.
Background After three years out of power, Pakalitha Mosisili returned to office as prime minister in the February 2015 general election as leader of the Democratic Congress, defeating Prime Minister Tom Thabane of the All Basotho Convention. However, in November 2016 an agreement was announced between the deputy leader of the Democratic Congress, Monyane Moleleki, and Thabane to remove Mosisili and install Moleleki as prime minister.Nthakoana Ngatane, "Lesotho parties to form coalition govt" , SABC News, 24 November 2016. Moleleki was suspended from the Democratic Congress in December 2016 and launched a new party, the Alliance of Democrats, in January 2017.Nthakoana Ngatane, "Thousands attend inaugural rally in Maseru" , SABC News, 29 January 2017.
On 12 February 2017 Thabane returned to Lesotho from self-imposed exile, declaring that Prime Minister Mosisili no longer commanded a parliamentary majority and vowing to oust him in a vote of no confidence. He claimed that he was risking his life by returning."Ex-PM returns to restive Lesotho vowing to win power" , Agence France-Presse, 12 February 2017.
The new opposition alliance defeated Mosisili in a vote of no confidence on 1 March 2017 and proposed Moleleki's name as the new prime minister;"Lesotho set for elections following no-confidence vote against PM Mosisili", Africanews, 2 March 2017. Mosisili, faced with the choice of stepping aside in favor of Moleleki or calling an early election, chose the latter. He advised King Letsie III to dissolve Parliament, and the King did so on 7 March, despite an opposition effort to obstruct the move.Nthakoana Ngatane, "Lesotho prepares for general elections" , SABC News, 7 March 2017. It was announced on 13 March that an early election would be held on 3 June 2017.
Electoral system The 120 members of the National Assembly were elected using a mixed single vote with seat linkage system for mixed-member proportional representation. Eighty members were elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting, with the remaining 40 elected from a single nationwide constituency in a closed list as leveling seats. The votes from every constituency were tabulated (with votes cast for independent candidates ignored) to give a nationwide total for each party. A quota of the 120 total seats in the National Assembly is then calculated using each party's vote share and the number of seats won in constituencies is deducted in order to give the number of the 40 leveling -seats that a party is due. If the total number of seats due to be awarded is less than 120, the highest remainder method is used to distribute the remaining leveling seats.National Assembly Elections 2015 Fact Sheets IEC
Results Partial results available by 5 June, with counting for 57 constituencies completed, showed Thabane's opposition party, the ABC, winning 45 constituencies against only eight for Mosisili's party, the Democratic Congress.Mathabiso Ralengau, "Lesotho opposition leads as vote count passes two-thirds mark", Bloomberg, 5 June 2017.
Full results were released on 6 June, confirming a victory for Thabane and the ABC, which won 48 seats against 30 for Mosisili's Democratic Congress."Lesotho: Incumbent Mosisili loses election to former Prime Minister Thabane", Africanews, 6 June 2017.
By district DistrictABCDCLCDADMECBNPPFDNIPOthersButha-Buthe District43.3814.7410.917.973.791.719.461.646.40Leribe District43.308.7522.382.252.573.7210.231.685.12Berea District50.9010.6317.056.343.293.621.501.195.48Maseru District51.2319.967.329.802.453.620.770.534.32Mafeteng District33.0135.111.832.5618.271.451.290.745.74Mohale's Hoek District30.1148.82-5.137.532.291.270.854.00Quthing District14.3952.33-7.223.2619.271.331.191.01Qacha's Nek District6.6476.25-3.674.535.660.590.332.33Thaba-Tseka District29.5939.01-5.955.254.348.301.625.94Mokhotlong District37.5939.55-3.966.143.281.841.875.67
Government formation The ABC said on 6 June that it planned to form a government in coalition with the Alliance of Democrats, the Basotho National Party, and the Reformed Congress of Lesotho. A government statement on 8 June said that Mosisili had submitted his resignation to King Letsie but would continue in a caretaker capacity."Easing fears, Lesotho's PM Mosisili resigns after election loss" , Associated Press, 9 June 2017. However, on 9 June, Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing, leader of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy, said that "there is no need for the removal of the existing government in office" and argued for the formation of "a government of national unity" for the sake of national stability."Former Lesotho deputy PM calls for government of national unity", Reuters, 10 June 2017.
Thabane's estranged wife Dipolelo was shot and killed on 14 June."'Killing' of Lesotho PM Thabane's wife raises instability fears", News24, 15 June 2017. Thabane was sworn in as prime minister on 16 June,Ismail Akwei, "'Devastated' Lesotho PM inaugurated after fatal shooting of wife", Africanews, 16 June 2017. and his cabinet was sworn in on 23 June, including Monyane Moleleki as deputy prime minister and minister of parliamentary affairs."New cabinet sworn in" , LENA, 23 June 2017.
References
External links IEC Lesotho