2022 Lesotho general election

2022 Lesotho general election

7 October 2022
All 120 seats in the National Assembly 61 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	37.80%
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– RFP Sam Matekane 38.89 57 New DC Mathibeli Mokhothu 24.81 29 −1 ABC Nkaku Kabi 7.30 8 −40 BAP Nqosa Mahao 5.65 6 New AD Monyane Moleleki 4.02 5 −4 MEC Selibe Mochoboroane 3.34 4 −2 LCD Mothetjoa Metsing 2.38 3 −8 SR Teboho Mojapela 2.07 2 New BNP Machesetsa Mofomobe 1.42 1 −4 PFD Lekhetho Rakuoane 0.90 1 −2 MPS Remaketse Sehlabaka 0.87 1 New BCM Ts'epo Lipholo 0.79 1 New HOPE Machabana Lemphane Letsie 0.72 1 New NIP Kimetso Mathaba 0.71 1 0 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Prime Minister before Prime Minister after Moeketsi Majoro ABC Sam Matekane RFP

General elections were held in Lesotho on 7 October 2022 to elect all 120 members of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament.^[1][2]

Background

The previous general elections in 2017 were called after prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili lost a vote of no confidence.^[3] In the election, the All Basotho Convention (ABC), led by Tom Thabane, won 48 seats. The Democratic Congress (DC) led by Mosisili won 30 seats, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy party (LCD) secured 11 seats whilst numerous minor parties won 27. The ABC won three additional seats; however, the results of those constituencies were declared null and void due to the deaths of some candidates contesting those seats.^[4][5] Following the election, the ABC announced its intention to form coalition government with the Reformed Congress of Lesotho, the Alliance of Democrats and the Basotho National Party.^[6] The new government was sworn in on 16 June and Thabane assumed office as prime minister.^[7]

Thabane's estranged wife, Lipolelo, was murdered shortly before his inauguration.^[7] In 2020, Thabane began to face pressure to step down due to his alleged role in Lipolelo's murder. The coalition government subsequently collapsed after ABC's alliance partners withdrew their support.^[8] Thabane resigned from the premiership in May, and finance minister Moeketsi Majoro succeeded him.^[9] The ABC then formed another government with the Basotho National Party.^[10] Thabane later resigned as leader of the ABC, and in February 2022, the party elected Nkaku Kabi to succeed him.^[11]

Majoro did not contest the ABC primaries, while several ABC ministers lost their nominations.^[12]

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 as leveling seats, which were allocated to make seat totals reflect the national vote share. Any party winning more seats in the single-member constituencies than their national vote share entitles them to will not be awarded more seats.^[13]

Conduct

Polling stations opened at 07:00. Delegations from the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations and the European Union were present to observe the elections.^[14]

Voting concluded at 17:00. Whilst there were no reports of significant upheavals to the electoral process, polling stations turned away several individuals whose names were not present on the electoral roll. Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) director, Mpaiphele Maqutu, said turnout was higher than in previous elections. However, the IEC did acknowledge that participation in some rural regions was low, with a lighter voter presence in places such as Thaba-Tseka.^[15]

Opinion polls

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample	ABC	DC	LCD	AD	MEC	BNP	PFD	NIP	RCL	BCP	MFP	SR	BBDP	BAP	RFP	Others	Lead
2022 election	7 Oct 2022	581,692	7.1	24.7	2.3	4.0	3.2	1.4	0.9	0.7	—	—	—	2.1	—	5.4	38.9	5.9	14.2
Afrobarometer/Advision	Feb–Mar 2022	1,200	21	42	6	6	6	5	1	—	—	—	—	3	—	8	—	2	21
Afrobarometer/Advision	23 Feb–11 Mar 2020	1,200	18.7	42.3	7.2	7.8	10.9	6.2	1.2	0.2	0.6	1.4	0.2	2.2	0.2	—	—	0.9	23.6
2017 election	3 Jun 2017	581,692	40.5	25.8	9.0	7.3	5.1	4.1	2.3	1.1	0.7	0.6	0.5	—	—	—	—	3.0	14.7

Results

The elections were postponed in the Stadium Area constituency following the death of the Basotholand Total Liberation Congress candidate.

The ruling All Basotho Convention lost all its constituency seats, including that of party leader Nkaku Kabi.^[16] Although the Democratic Congress party ran its campaign opposing the ABC, the party's recent support for the coalition government allowed the new Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party to seem more credible as a new start.^[17]

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				FPTP	List	Total	+/–
	Revolution for Prosperity	201,478	38.89	57	0	57	New
	Democratic Congress	128,517	24.81	18	11	29	–1
	All Basotho Convention	37,809	7.30	0	8	8	–40
	Basotho Action Party	29,285	5.65	0	6	6	New
	Alliance of Democrats	20,843	4.02	2	3	5	–4
	Movement for Economic Change	17,281	3.34	1	3	4	–2
	Lesotho Congress for Democracy	12,326	2.38	0	3	3	–8
	Socialist Revolutionaries	10,738	2.07	1	1	2	New
	Basotho National Party	7,367	1.42	0	1	1	–4
	Popular Front for Democracy	4,655	0.90	0	1	1	–2
	Mpulule Political Summit	4,485	0.87	0	1	1	New
	Basotho Covenant Movement	4,117	0.79	0	1	1	New
	HOPE – Mphatlalatsane	3,717	0.72	0	1	1	New
	National Independent Party	3,704	0.71	1	0	1	0
	Basotho Patriotic Party	3,201	0.62	0	0	0	New
	United for Change	2,940	0.57	0	0	0	New
	Lesotho People's Congress	2,075	0.40	0	0	0	0
	Alliance for Free Movement	2,002	0.39	0	0	0	New
	Basutoland Congress Party	1,911	0.37	0	0	0	–1
	Reformed Congress of Lesotho	1,809	0.35	0	0	0	–1
	Marematlou Freedom Party	1,767	0.34	0	0	0	–1
	Basotho Liberation Movement	1,530	0.30	0	0	0	New
	Basotho Democratic Congress	1,167	0.23	0	0	0	New
	Basotho Democratic National Party	1,165	0.22	0	0	0	0
	Lesotho Economic Freedom	1,153	0.22	0	0	0	New
	Basotho Economic Enrichment	1,076	0.21	0	0	0	New
	Basotho Total Liberation Congress	888	0.17	0	0	0	New
	Khothalang Basotho	828	0.16	0	0	0	New
	African Unity Movement	750	0.14	0	0	0	0
	Your Opportunity and Network Alliance	719	0.14	0	0	0	New
	Lekhotla la Mekhoa le Meetlo	579	0.11	0	0	0	0
	Basotho Social Party	557	0.11	0	0	0	New
	Metsi and Natural Resources Party	533	0.10	0	0	0	New
	Basotho Poverty Solution Party	472	0.09	0	0	0	New
	Bahlabani ba Tokoloho Movement	468	0.09	0	0	0	New
	Development Party for All	469	0.09	0	0	0	New
	Basutholand African National Congress	446	0.09	0	0	0	0
	Revolutionary Alliance of Democracy	432	0.08	0	0	0	New
	Tsepo Ea Basotho	423	0.08	0	0	0	New
	African Ark	344	0.07	0	0	0	New
	Basotho Council for Economic Freedom	302	0.06	0	0	0	New
	Basotho Redevelopment Party	288	0.06	0	0	0	New
	Empowerment Movement for Basotho	282	0.05	0	0	0	New
	Mookoli Theological Front	264	0.05	0	0	0	New
	Yearn for Economic Sustainability	231	0.04	0	0	0	New
	People's Convention	225	0.04	0	0	0	New
	Allies for Patriotic Change	195	0.04	0	0	0	New
	Prayer Shawl and Light	118	0.02	0	0	0	New
	Independents	123	0.02	0	0	0	0
Total		518,054	100.00	80	40	120	0
Valid votes		518,054	98.74
Invalid/blank votes		6,594	1.26
Total votes		524,648	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,388,117	37.80
Source: IEC

Aftermath

On 11 October Revolution for Prosperity leader Sam Matekane announced that his party had reached a coalition agreement with the Alliance of Democrats and the Movement for Economic Change. Matekane will lead the government as Prime Minister.^[18]

PM Majoro submitted his formal resignation to the King on 14 October; the King accepted, and asked Majoro to remain until the new PM was inaugurated. This occurred on 28 October after the new parliament was sworn in.^[19]

References

1. Phakela, Mohalenyane (24 March 2021). "Lesotho: General Elections to Be Held in September 2022 – IEC". allAfrica.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
2. "Lesotho's general elections scheduled on October 7". Africanews. 21 July 2022. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
3. "Lesotho set for elections following no-confidence vote against PM Mosisili". Africa News. 2 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
4. "Final Elections Tally Announced". Lesotho Times. 6 June 2017. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
5. "Kingdom of Lesotho". Election Guide. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
6. Akwei, Ismail (6 June 2017). "Lesotho: Incumbent Mosisili loses election to former Prime Minister Thabane". Africa News. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
7. Akwei, Ismail (16 June 2017). "'Devastated' Lesotho PM inaugurated after fatal shooting of wife". Africa News. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
8. "Lesotho: Coalition government of PM Thomas Thabane collapses". Al Jazeera. 11 May 2020. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
9. "Lesotho's new Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro sworn in". Sowetan Live. 20 May 2020. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
10. Ngatane, Nthakoana (21 May 2020). "LESOTHO PM MAJORO TAPS DC'S MOKHOTHU AS HIS DEPUTY". Eyewitness News. Maseru. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
11. "ABC elects new leader". Africa Press. 2 February 2022. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
12. Mohloboli, ’Marafaele (16 August 2022). "Majoro out, other ABC bigwigs tumble in primaries". Lesotho Times. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
13. Electoral system Archived 14 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine IPU
14. "Thousands Vote in Southern Africa's Small Kingdom Lesotho". U.S. News. Maseru. 7 October 2022. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
15. Moto, Herbert (7 October 2022). "Vote Counting Underway In Lesotho's Polls". Lesotho Times. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
16. "Why ABC lost the elections – The Post". www.thepost.co.ls. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
17. "Why the DC misfired – The Post". www.thepost.co.ls. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
18. "Lesotho Tycoon Forges Coalition After Poll Breakthrough". Barron's. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
19. "Lesotho Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro resigns". SABC News. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.