Lesotho votes amid instability

Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane (centre) leaves a polling station on the outskirts of Maseru after voting in a snap election on February 28, 2015. PHOTO | GIANLUIGI GUERCIA |

What you need to know:

  • Attempt to oust Prime Minister Tom Thabane left the kingdom fractured to date
  • Given that Lesotho’s armed forces are notorious for meddling in politics, the events of last August were made even more worrying by the fact that the military is known to have close ties with Mr Metsing, while Mr Thabane is said to have close ties with the police.

By the time you’re reading this, the tallying of the ballots for Lesotho’s parliamentary elections held on Saturday will be well under way.

Despite 23 parties having been registered for yesterday’s election, only three were considered strong enough to be deemed the frontrunners. Among them are the two parties that constitute incumbent Prime Minister Tom Thabane’s shaky coalition government.

They are Thabane’s All Basotho Convention (ABC) and its coalition partner Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) led by Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing.

Also deemed a frontrunner is Lesotho’s main opposition party Democratic Congress (DC) led by former Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili. Intriguingly, according to the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS), the DC and LCD had prior to yesterday’s polls formed a formidable alliance that was expected to keep Thabane on his toes.

The coalition came even as a top Lesotho government official was recently quoted as saying that no party was likely to get enough votes to govern alone. In the meantime, another observer was quick to point out that even if Mosisili does not win outright “he is almost certain to lead a coalition government”.

As if to give that view even more credence, ISS researcher Dimpho Motsamai was last week quoted as saying that Mr Mosisili had run the best campaign and done the best job of explaining Lesotho’s prevailing political uncertainty in his favour. The researcher added that Mr Mosisili had consequently “won the public relations battle.”

Poignantly, during the last election in 2012, the DC won the largest number of seats (48), but failed to get a majority. The result was that in the end, three other parties formed the country’s first coalition government.

These were ABC, which had 30 seats, LCD (26 seats) and the Basotho National Party (BNP) with five seats.

However, soon there were ramblings that set the stage for perennial squabbling over power between Thabane (ABC), Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing (LCD) and Sports Minister Thesele ‘Maseribane (BNP).

Unfortunately, that state of affairs set the scene for the coalition’s inevitable failure. In the meantime, a spirited anti-corruption drive by Mr Thabane became a major spanner in the works, particularly when Mr Metsing emerged as the subject of a major corruption probe.

Furiously fighting back, the deputy prime minister in June 2014 openly declared that he would go out of his way to oust Mr Thabane. The latter responded by suspending Parliament, even as a major showdown loomed between the two denizens of the Lesotho political scene.

The outcome was a convoluted coup attempt that took place in August last year, ushering in a new period of uncertainty. During that episode, nearly five months ago, soldiers raided Mr Thabane’s residence and the police headquarters in the capital Maseru, raising tension even as Mr Thabane hurriedly fled to South Africa.

Given that Lesotho’s armed forces are notorious for meddling in politics, the events of last August were made even more worrying by the fact that the military is known to have close ties with Mr Metsing, while Mr Thabane is said to have close ties with the police.

Considering that the two leaders had been embroiled in a long-standing battle for political supremacy, it was not surprising that Mr Metsing took over the reins in Mr Thabane’s absence.

ARMY DENIED COUP

In the meantime, both Mr Metsing and the army denied that there had been a coup, with the army saying that the raids were aimed at disarming rogue elements within the police force who were allegedly preparing to supply weapons to some political parties.

Alarmed by the latest developments in the historically volatile Lesotho, both South Africa and the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc said “the activities of the Lesotho Defence Force . . .(bore) the hallmarks of a coup d’état”.

Despite consequent efforts by SADC countries to stabilise Lesotho, political tensions were not totally eased in the landlocked country surrounded on all sides by South Africa.

Even as Saturday’s polls neared, there were fears about the future of the country, which has 2 million residents and is ruled by King Letsie III, whose duties are however mainly ceremonial.