HISTORY
Lesotho
gained independence from Britain on October 4, 1966. In January
1970 the ruling Basotho National Party (BNP) appeared set to lose
the first post-independence general elections when Prime Minister
Leabua Jonathan annulled the election. He refused to cede power
to the Basotho Congress Party (BCP) and imprisoned its leadership.
The BNP
ruled by decree until January 1986 when a military coup forced
them out of office. The Military Council that came into power
granted executive powers to King Moshoeshoe II, who was until
then a ceremonial monarch. In 1987, however, the King was forced
into exile after a falling out with the army. His son was installed
as King Letsie III.
The chairman
of the military junta, Major General Metsing Lekhanya, was ousted
in 1991 and then replaced by Major General Phisoane Ramaema, who
handed over power to a democratically elected government of the
BCP in 1993. Moshoeshoe II returned from exile in 1992 as an ordinary
citizen. After the return to democratic government, King Letsie
III tried unsuccessfully to persuade the BCP government to reinstate
his father (Moshoeshoe II) as head of state. In August 1994, Letsie
III staged a coup which was backed by the military and deposed
the BCP government. The new government did not receive full international
recognition. Member states of the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) engaged in negotiations aimed at the reinstatement
of the BCP government. One of the conditions put forward by the
King for the return of the BCP government was that his father
should be re-installed as head of state. After protracted negotiations,
the BCP government was reinstated and the King abdicated in favor
of his father in 1995, but Moshoeshoe II died in a car accident
in 1996 and was again succeeded by his son, Letsie III. The ruling
BCP split over leadership disputes in 1997.
Prime
Minister Ntsu Mokhehle formed a new party, the Lesotho Congress
for Democracy (LCD), and was followed by a majority of Members
of Parliament, which enabled him to form a new government. The
LCD won the general elections in 1998 under the leadership of
Pakalitha Mosisili, who had succeeded Mokhehle as party leader.
Despite the elections being pronounced free and fair by local
and international observers and a subsequent special commission
appointed by SADC, the opposition political parties rejected the
results.
Opposition
protests in the country intensified, culminating in a violent
demonstration outside the royal palace in August 1998. When junior
members of the armed services mutinied in September, the government
requested a SADC task force to intervene to prevent a coup and
restore stability. A military group of South African and Botswana
troops entered the country in September, put down the mutiny,
and withdrew in May 1999. Looting, casualties, and widespread
destruction of property followed.
An Interim Political Authority (IPA), charged with reviewing the electoral structure in the country, was created in December 1998. The IPA devised a proportional electoral system to ensure that there would be opposition in the National Assembly. The new system retained the existing 80 elected Assembly seats, but added 40 seats to be filled on a proportional basis. Elections were held under this new system in May 2002, and the LCD won again. For the first time, due to the inclusion of proportional seats, opposition political parties won significant numbers of seats. Elections were held again in February 2007. Nine opposition parties hold all 40 of the proportional seats, with the National Independent Party (NIP) having the largest share (21). The LCD has 61 of the 80 constituency-based seats, and All Basotho Congress (ABC) holds 17.
