Politics of Lesotho - Political Parties and Elections

Political Parties and Elections

The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) won the majority in parliament in the 23 May 1998 general elections, leaving the once-dominant Basotho National Party (BNP) and Basotholand Congress Party (BCP) far behind in total votes. Although international observers as well as a regional commission declared the elections to have reflected the will of the people, many members of the opposition have accused the LCD of electoral fraud. The 1998 elections were the third multiparty elections in Lesotho's history. The LCD, BNP, and BCP remain the principal rival political organizations in Lesotho. Distinctions and differences in political orientation between the major parties have blurred in recent years.

Nevertheless, after political riots following the disputed 1998, an all-party forum called the Interim Political Authority was formed to level ground for the next poll. It proposed the restructuring of the Independent Electoral Commission, which happened and the change of the model from pure First-Past-the-Post System to Mixed Member Proportional Representation.

In the 25 May 2002 general elections, the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy was re-elected by majority, winning all but one of the 80 constituency-based seats. 40 compensatory seats under the Proportional Representation were shared among nine opposition parties.