Lesotho general election, 2002

The parliamentary elections in Lesotho took place in 2002 in the Kingdom of Lesotho on 25 May 2002. Was elected the National Assembly, which chooses the Prime Minister and for the government. For the first time the distribution of seats was determined by a combined majority and proportional representation.

Starting position

The distribution of seats after the last elections in 1998 was as follows: Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD ) 79, Basotho National Party ( BNP ) 1 Since 1998, thus had the politicians Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili the Office of the Prime Minister held. He belonged to the LCD, which he had founded as a spin-off of the Basotho Congress Party ( BCP). After the 1998 elections, there was a constitutional crisis that had been initiated by the unterlegenenen opposition parties and in the course of public policy came to a standstill. Only with the deployment of South African troops and botswanischer the democratically elected government could be reinstated. As a consequence, was formed as a provisional parliament, the Interim Political Authority ( about " Political transition committee "), which adopted a new electoral law. There are 80 direct candidates in 2002 is therefore the first time 40 list candidates have been chosen, the parties belonged, the direct mandates - were represented disproportionately - calculated on the number of 120 MPs.

In October 2001, the Lesotho People's Congress ( LPC) split off with 27 Deputies from the LCD.

831 315 voters were registered before the elections. Most parties had their chairs placed on the front positions, the prominent politician LPC Shakhane Mokhehle, brother of the late former Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle, however, firmly counted with a direct mandate and was not a candidate list.

Expiration

The choice was between candidates in the 80 constituencies and politicians on electoral lists for the remaining 40 seats to be awarded. The election took place on 25 May 2002 (Saturday ) instead. The elections were observed by representatives of the SADC.

Result

The LCD won the election with 54.8 % of votes. The constituency MPs came from two parties: 77 from the LCD and a deputy of the LPC. In the two vacant constituencies two more LCD deputies were elected in by-elections. The BNP received the second highest number of votes with 22.4 %. About party lists the following mandates were awarded: BNP 21, National Independent Party (NIP ) 5, LPC 5, Basutoland African Congress (BAC ) 3, Basotho Congress Party ( BCP ) 3, Lesotho Workers' Party ( LWP ), Popular Front for Democracy ( PFD), Marematlou Freedom Party ( MFP) and National Progressive Party (NPP ) per 1 Mokhehle missed the direct mandate by nine votes.

To set the LCD 79 of the 120 seats. For the first time won ten women - all from the LCD - direct mandates, two women were elected as list candidates.

Follow

Mosisili could remain Prime Minister after this election. 2006, a year before the next election, the All Basotho Convention (ABC) split under Tom Thabane on the LCD.