| Parliament name |
Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
National Assembly |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
28 February 2015 |
| Purpose of elections |
No party won an outright majority in the early elections that followed political instability and a coup attempt in August 2014. The Democratic Congress (DC), led by former Prime Minister Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili, won 47 seats, one more than the All Basotho Convention (ABC), led by Prime Minister Thomas Thobane. The DC - which had ruled the country for 14 years until the 2012 elections - subsequently formed a coalition government comprising seven parties, controlling 66 seats in the 120-member National Assembly. Mr. Mothetjoa Metsing, the outgoing Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) - whose defection from the ABC-led coalition government had preceded the 2014 political crisis - became Deputy Prime Minister in Mr. Mosisili's new government. During the election campaigning, the major issues included fighting against extreme poverty and corruption and forming a stable government to unite the country.
The country had experienced political instability since March 2014. In the 2012 elections, Mr. Mosisili's Democratic Congress (DC) became the largest party but three smaller parties - the ABC, the LCD and the Basotho National Party (BNP) - formed the first ever coalition government in Lesotho. In March 2014, the LCD submitted a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Thabane. In June, the Prime Minister suspended Parliament in an apparent bid to avoid the no confidence motion. On 30 August, shortly after the Prime Minister dismissed a key ally of Deputy Prime Minister Metsing in the Lesotho Defence Force, soldiers assaulted the Prime Minister's residence The latter temporarily fled to South Africa before returning to Lesotho the following month and resuming the premiership. On 2 October, under the mediation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), all political parties signed the Maseru Facilitation Declaration. That paved the way for the reconvening of Parliament by King Letsie III on 17 October and holding of early elections in February 2015, instead of 2017. |
Date of previous elections: 26 May 2012
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 5 December 2014
Timing of election: Early elections
Expected date of next elections: February 2020
Number of seats at stake: 120 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 1,116 (779 men, 337 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 30.2%
Number of parties contesting the election: 23
Number of parties winning seats: 10
Alternation of power: Yes
Number of parties in government: 7
Names of parties in government: Democratic Congress (DC), Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), Popular Front For Democracy (PFD), Basutoland Congress Party (BCP), Lesotho People's Congress (LPC) Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP) and National Independent Party (NIP)
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 10 March 2015
Name of the new Speaker: Ms. Ntlhoi Motsamai (Democratic Congress, DC) |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 28 February 2015 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
1'210'079
563'972 (46.61%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Majority |
Proportional |
|
|
| Democratic Congress (DC) |
47
|
37 |
10 |
|
|
| All Basotho Convention (ABC) |
46
|
40 |
6 |
|
|
| Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) |
12
|
2 |
10 |
|
|
| Basotho National Party (BNP) |
7
|
1 |
6 |
|
|
| Popular Front For Democracy (PFD) |
2
|
0 |
2 |
|
|
| Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL) |
2
|
0 |
2 |
|
|
| Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
| Lesotho People's Congress (LPC) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
| Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
| National Independence Party (NIP) |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
90
30
25.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
National Assembly (19.03.2015, 09.04.2015)
http://www.iec.org.ls
http://www.iec.org.ls/index.php/elections/documents/health-of-the-election-voters-register
http://www.iec.org.ls/election%20act/PR%20allocations.pdf |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
