POLITICS-LESOTHO: “No Sense If People Vote and Their Lives Remain the Same”

By Moyiga Nduru Reprint | | Print |

Moyiga Nduru

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 23 2007 (IPS) - Results issued this week show that the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) has swept to back to power in parliamentary elections held Feb. 17. The party, at the helm since 1998, won 61 of the 80 contested seats – leaving the main opposition grouping, the All Basotho Convention (ABC), to take 17.

An additional 40 seats were allocated through a proportional representation system. The National Independent Party, in alliance with the LCD, won 21 of these seats, while the Lesotho Workers Party gained 10. The latter is in partnership with the ABC.

Khabele Matlosa, senior advisor and researcher at the Johannesburg-based Electoral Institute of Southern Africa – and himself a Mosotho – has just returned from monitoring the poll in Lesotho. He spoke to IPS about the vote, and prospects for the new government of Southern Africa’s “Mountain Kingdom”.

IPS: The All Basotho Convention is complaining that the election was not fair. What’s your take?

Khabele Matlosa (KM): Lesotho had a snap election organised within 90 days. Under such circumstances, a lot of issues would remain contentious. These include complaints by the opposition about the registration process, access to the state media, party funding, payments of party agents and the timing of the elections. The opposition also raised allegations of vote buying by the ruling party and the use of government vehicles to ferry voters.

The process went smoothly. The voters were free to express their will. However, the (matter of) fairness is a tricky one. The ruling party used government vehicles to ferry voters, and the opposition complained that the money given to them – each party received 15,000 dollars – came late.

IPS: The country has experienced a string of military coups, most recently in 1998. Have the grievances which prompted the military to seize power been addressed?

KM: The military is no longer the political force it used to be. Its members are now a disciplined and professional force. They have extricated themselves from political parties. They are no longer a threat.

IPS: Lesotho has almost 50 percent unemployment and a third of its adult population has HIV/AIDS – one of the highest proportions in the world. How can the incoming administration best tackle these challenges?

KM: Job creation is critical. Lesotho has too small a private sector to provide jobs for everybody. Basotho migrants work in the mines and farms in South Africa (and) migrant remittance is still crucial. Lesotho depends on remittances, the SACU (Southern African Customs Union) dividend (shared between South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho) and foreign aid. If you look carefully, you’ll find that these revenues have been on the decline. We have started to get money from the Lesotho Highland Water Project, from South Africa. Recently Lesotho also discovered diamonds.

Providing social amenities to people to improve their livelihood is critical. It makes no sense if people vote and their lives remain the same. This brings us to the burning issue of HIV/AIDS, which is a threat to Lesotho’s social fabric. Resources must be earmarked for HIV/AIDS.

The opposition should also play its role. For the first time, Lesotho has a parliament with a strong opposition to hold the government accountable.

IPS: What lessons can the rest of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) draw from the elections in Lesotho, if any?

KM: It can draw several lessons. SADC needs to learn from Lesotho’s mixed member proportional system. The model must be studied carefully. SADC can also learn from Lesotho’s ability to extricate the military from politics.