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THE 1998 ELECTIONS |
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Many BCP members and opposition parties questioned the
move’s constitutionality and attempted to disrupt
parliamentary proceedings. The legislature continued to meet
until February 1998 when the government called for its
dissolution in preparation for the May elections.
LCD won the 1998 elections with 79 seats out of 80. Although
international observers had concluded that the May elections
had met international standards, some opposition parties
challenged the election result. First they challenged the
results through the courts, then they switched to marches
and demonstrations, calling upon the King and some of the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) to dissolve
the elected government and establish a government of
national unity. Supporters of opposition parties camped
outside the King’s Palace awaiting a response from the King
on their demands.
In August a delegation from South Africa negotiated an
agreement with the government and opposition parties that a
commission led by a South African Justice, Pius Langa,
should investigate the alleged irregularities during the
elections.
Protests against the results of the elections continued and
culminated after the publication of the Langa report in
September 1998. The LCD government requested the military
assistance from the neighbouring countries in order to
restore order and in the process lives were lost and
property destroyed. |
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ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INTERIM POLITICAL AUTHORITY - IPA |
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As
a temporary solution to the problems experienced by Lesotho
in the aftermath of the 1998 elections, a political
compromise was reached between the government and the
opposition parties. An Interim Political Authority (IPA)
comprising two members from each of the twelve parties
contesting the 1998 election was established in November
1998 to review Lesotho's electoral system with a view to
making it more democratic and representative and to
recommend changes to existing laws, including the
Constitution, and to relevant public institutions in order
to enable the IPA to attain its objectives.
IPA was also mandated to prepare for the holding of general
elections to be held within a period of 18 months from the
date of the commencement of the Act, which established it.
So elections would have to be held by May 2000.
In terms of the Constitution, the life of the National
Assembly is five years calculated from the date the two
Houses of Parliament (Senate and National Assembly) first
meet after the latest dissolution. |
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THE MMP SYSTEM |
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IIn pursuance of one of its objectives, the IPA decided
unanimously on 25th August 1999 to adopt an electoral model
for Lesotho Parliamentary elections called the Mixed Member
Proportional (MMP) system,
The system uses the PR mechanism as a basis for the overall
allocation of seats, even though parties are entitled to
retain constituencies they have won. The system is currently
being used in a number of countries, including New Zealand,
Germany, Italy, Mexico, and Venezuela. It is also being used
for the regional assemblies in Wales and Scotland.
IPA did not manage to prepare for elections within 18 months
as it was expected due to problems encountered. These
problems were primarily concentrated in two areas:
(1) The number of seats in the next National Assembly and
how the balance should be between constituency seats and
compensatory (PR) seats. There were those who were
advocating a 65/65 split and those who were advocating 80
constituencies and 50 PR seats in the National Assembly. An
Arbitration Tribunal on the 15th October, 1999 delivered an
award, which reads as follows:
"For the 2000 election only the mix ratio of constituency
seats to Proportional seats shall be 80/50. Thereafter the
mix ratio shall be on the basis that the FPTP and PR are 50%
each of the seats of the National Assembly".
(2) LCD opposed the decision in the IPA, as the governing
party was advocating an alternative electoral model, the
so-called Parallel System. The LCD was also concerned about
the number of seats in the National Assembly, which they
would like to see lower than the 130 suggested by IPA.
The year 2000 saw a protracted political struggle over the
future electoral model. Eventually, it was decided to
compromise, so that the MMP system was being introduced, but
the ratio of seats was 80:40, meaning 80 constituency seats
and 40 compensatory (PR) seats.
As a result the Constitution of Lesotho was amended (Fourth
Amendment to the Constitution Act 2001) to cater for the MMP
system with the said mix ratio. |
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THE NEW ELECTION BILL |
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In
preparation for the forthcoming fresh elections, [to be held
in May 2002,] the IPA has drafted a bill and passed it to
Parliament for consideration.
The bill can be summarized as covering three broad areas as
follows:-
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The giving effect of the Fourth Amendment to the
Constitution Act 2001.
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Establishment of clear and transparent procedures for
casting of votes, counting votes and announcing of
elections result.
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Revision of code of conduct especially on its enforcement
mechanism by creating a special tribunal.
Under the revised code of conduct and its enforcement
mechanism, the amendment bill seeks to:-
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Introduce
a user-friendly code of conduct, which will be easily
changed into a booklet for voter education purposes.
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Stop
the ruling party and its members from abusing public
property an their privileges during elections.
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Prohibit
political parties from harassing members of the media. The
political parties and politicians unfortunately are not
protecting from harassment by the media.
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Establish a tribunal appointed by the I.E.C. to enforce
the code of conduct.
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AMENDMENTS TO THE ELECTORAL ACT |
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In
preparation for the elections scheduled for 25 May 2002, the
IPA has drafted two bills, which were passed by the National
Assembly as Amendmend Acts and went into operation on 5
February 2001 and 7 January 2002, respectively.
The latter act can be summarized as covering primarily the
following four areas:
• Giving effect of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution
Act 2001.
• Establishment of clear and transparent procedures for
casting of votes, counting votes and announcing of elections
result (not least because of the requirements of the MMP
electoral system)
• Revision of code of conduct especially on its enforcement
mechanism by creating a special tribunal.
• Establish a tribunal appointed by the I.E.C. to enforce
the code of conduct. |
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REGISTRATION OF VOTERS |
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At
the official launching of registration of voters on August
11, 2001, the Chairman of the IEC, Mr L.A. Thoahlane,
indicated that: "Lesotho belongs to the family of nations.
For her to be accepted, she has to prove that she cherishes
freedom and fairness for the people, especially in the
elections process. The world is watching what we do in
Lesotho in 2002. We are one of the first countries in the
region to utilize new technology in fingerprint and image
identification and recording to reduce the incidence of
fraud and corruption in the electoral process."
Registration of young voters (to be 18 between the end of
the ordinary registration period and the election day took
place in February 2002.
Altogether, some 830.000 voters were registered. All
attempts have been taken to clean the registration lists for
double registrations, voters having passed away after
registration, but before the finalisation of the lists, etc.
The registration level is slightly lower than what was aimed
at, but the IEC still considers it satisfactory. The number
registered approximately equals 75 per cent of the voting
age population.
References
Matlosa, K. (1999). Elections and Election
Administration: An Electoral Audit for Lesotho,
Johannesburg: Electoral Institute of Southern Africa. |
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