| Parliament name |
Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
National Assembly |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
3 June 2017 |
| Purpose of elections |
Former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's All Basotho Convention (ABC) came first in snap elections but failed to win an outright majority. On 16 June, Mr. Thabane was again sworn in as Prime Minister in a new coalition government, comprising his ABC, the Alliance of Democrats (AD), the Basotho National Party (BNP) and the Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL), which jointly hold 63 seats in the 121-member National Assembly.
The 2017 elections - the third poll in five years - were triggered after Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili of the Democratic Congress (DC) lost a vote of confidence in March. Mr. Mosisili had been leading a seven-party coalition since 2015. His deputy, Mr. Monyake Moleleki, defected with a number of DC members and joined the ABC in passing the March 2017 no confidence vote against Mr. Mosisili urging the King to appoint Mr. Moleleki as the new Prime Minister. Mr. Mosisili chose to dissolve parliament instead of resigning from the post in favour of Mr. Moleleki. King Letsie III subsequently dissolved parliament thus paving the way to the snap elections held in June 2017.
|
Date of previous elections: 28 February 2015
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 7 March 2017
Timing of election: Early elections
Expected date of next elections: June 2022
Number of seats at stake: 120 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 1,374 (943 men, 431 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 31.4%
Number of parties contesting the election: 30
Number of parties winning seats: 12
Alternation of power: Yes
Number of parties in government: 4
Names of parties in government: All Basotho Convention party (ABC), Alliance of Democrats (AD), Basotho National Party (BNP), Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL)
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 12 June 2017
Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Sephiri Enoch Motanyane (Independent)
|
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 3 June 2017 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
1'254'506
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| All Basotho Convention (ABC) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Congress (DC) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Alliance of Democrats (AD) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Movement for Economic Change (MEC) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Basotho National Party (BNP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Popular Front For Democracy (PFD) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Basotho Congress Party (BCP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| National Independence Party (NIP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Party of Lesotho (DPL) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Majority |
Proportional |
|
|
| All Basotho Convention (ABC) |
51
|
50 |
1 |
|
|
| Democratic Congress (DC) |
30
|
26 |
4 |
|
|
| Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) |
11
|
1 |
10 |
|
|
| Alliance of Democrats (AD) |
9
|
1 |
8 |
|
|
| Movement for Economic Change (MEC) |
6
|
1 |
5 |
|
|
| Basotho National Party (BNP) |
5
|
0 |
5 |
|
|
| Popular Front For Democracy (PFD) |
3
|
1 |
2 |
|
|
| Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
| Basotho Congress Party (BCP) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
| Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
| National Independence Party (NIP) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
| Democratic Party of Lesotho (DPL) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
95
27
22.13%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Note on the number of members:
In accordance with Article 63 (1) and Article 64 (1) of the Constitution, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker may be elected "either from among the persons who are members [of the National Assembly] or from among other persons". The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, who assumed the post in June 2017, are not elected members of the National Assembly. The current legislature thus comprises 122 members in all: 120 elected members, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.
Note:
Elections in three constituencies were not held in June 2017 due to the passing on of candidates. The All Basotho Convention (ABC) won the three seats in differed elections held on 30 September, thereby increasing its share from 48 to 51 seats. The distribution of seats above reflects the results of the differed elections. The number of women remained at 27 out of 122 members.
Sources:
National Assembly (13.06.2017, 15.06.2017, 02.11.2017, 03.11.2017, 14.11.2017)
http://www.iec.org.ls/
http://www.iec.org.ls/final/Index.php#IEC1
http://www.bbc.com/
http://lestimes.com/
http://www.aljazeera.com/
https://www.africaresearchinstitute.org/
http://africanarguments.org
http://www.news24.com/
http://www.lestimes.com/abc-wins-three-more-seats/ |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
