Former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane wins in Lesotho’s general elections

On Tuesday, results from the general elections that took place on the 3rd of June 2017 in Lesotho were announced.

It is remembered that, there were two major candidates and long time rivals among others in this race. The Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili and the Former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane.

According to the results published on Tuesday, the Prime Minister of Lesotho Pakalitha Mosisili lost to the Former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, in the country’s parliamentary election.

With the 68 constituencies announced last night, Thabane had won 48 while his big time opponent Mosisili of the Democratic Congress (DC), had won only 16. The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) of Deputy Prime Minister Methotjoa Metsing, which forged an alliance with the DC, had won only one seat.

The recently formed Alliance for Democracy (DC), of Former Home Affairs Minister Monyake Moleleki had won one seat too.

The Movement for Economic Change (MEC), the splinter from the LCD, had won one seat as well as the Popular Front for Democracy (PFD).

The final results from the remaining constituencies will be announced on Tuesday.

According to Lesotho constitution, the leader of the party that has won more seats in the 80 contested constituencies, is given the first right to form government.

Thabane, in this case, is likely to form a coalition with the BNP and the AD to form the next government.

“We intend to form a government with the Democratic Alliance, the Basotho National Party and the reformed congress of Lesotho,” said Samonyane Ntsekele, Secretary General of the Basotho Convention (ABC)

“We will make this coalition government official in the next two days,” he added.

Another 40 seats remaining from the 120 seats of member Parliament will be allocated on a proportional representation basis.

Basing on Lesotho’s Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR), it is said that parties that do not win in the constituencies, get more PR seats as long as they meet the required thresholds of minimum votes for PR allocation after ballots in all the contested constituencies are aggregated.

Correspondent: Shamirah Abdallah