2007 Lesotho general election

none Lesotho Legislative 2002 Lesotho general election 2002 17 February 2007 2012 Lesotho general election 2012 120 seats in the National Assembly 61 Proportional vote % and swing Constituency vote % and swing Pakalitha_Mosisili_with_Obamas_cropped.jpg Pakalitha Mosisili LCD LCD—NIP 78 seats 4 82 229,602 51.83% (3.06 pp) 304,316 53.11% (4.53pp) Tom_Thabane.jpg Tom Thabane ABC ABC—LWP 1 seat (LWP) 26 27 107,463 29.34% (27.90pp) 125,880 24.26% (22.86pp) Justin Lekhanya illustration (cropped).png Justin Lekhanya BNP 21 seats 3 18 — 29,965 6.76% (15.65pp) 24,721 5.76% (15.68pp) Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle LCD Pakalitha Mosisili LCD General elections were held in Lesotho on 17 February 2007. They were originally scheduled to be held in April or May 2007. In October 2006, Tom Thabane left the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) and formed a new party, the All Basotho Convention (ABC), and 17 other members of parliament joined him. This left the LCD with a narrow majority of 61 out of 120 seats. On the advice of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, King Letsie III dissolved parliament on November 24, 2006, and the election was scheduled for February 17, 2007.Lesotho dissolves Parliament ahead of elections Mail & Guardian Online, 25 November 2006Bethuel Thai, "Lesotho will go to the polls in February 2007" June 2022 medicmedic, Reuters (IOL), December 1, 2006. Bringing forward of the polling date caused dissatisfaction amongst the opposition, which expressed concern that it would not allow sufficient time for campaigning and electoral preparations. It was believed that the election was called early due to the possibility that there would be further defections from the LCD, depriving it of its majority in parliament. 80 constituency seats were up for election together with 40 seats allocated by proportional representation. The poll was monitored by the SADC and the American National Democratic Institute.Q&A: Lesotho legislative elections, BBC 16/2/2007 The electoral commission announced late on 20 February that the LCD had won 61 out of the 80 constituency seats, while the ABC won 17."Lesotho's ruling party wins elections", Xinhua (People's Daily Online), February 21, 2007. The Alliance of Congress Parties won one constituency seat,"Electoral commission declares LCD as winners of Lesotho elections"December 2017 InternetArchiveBot yes , African Press Agency, February 21, 2007. and the vote in Makhaleng was delayed because a candidate there had died. The National Independent Party, which is allied with the LCD and acted as its decoy list, won 21 seats through proportional representation, and the Lesotho Workers' Party, which is allied with the ABC, won 10 seats through proportional representation. ABC leader Tom Thabane called the vote free, but not fair."Win was not fair - opposition" https://web.archive.org/web/20060615021453/http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1 2006-06-15 , AFP (IOL), February 21, 2007. An extended dispute has followed the election regarding the allocation of the seats based on proportional representation. Despite acknowledging that the LCD won the election, the ABC has argued that the proportional seats were not allocated correctly. The LCD's reluctance to engage in talks prompted Thabane on October 18, 2007 to threaten street protests to pressure the government into holding a new election "if they continue to fail to co-operate"."Thabane pressures Lesotho leaders", AFP (IOL), October 19, 2007. Results Proportional Constituency LCD alliance 3 Lesotho Congress for Democracy 225098 61 61 –16 National Independent Party 229602 21 2751 0 21 +16 229602 21 227849 53.11 61 82 0 ABC alliance 3 All Basotho Convention 125880 17 17 New Lesotho Workers' Party 107463 10 10 +9 107463 10 125880 29.34 17 27 +26 Basotho National Party 29965 3 24721 0 3 –18 Alliance of Congress Parties 20263 1 14620 1 2 –6 Basotho Batho Democratic Party 8474 1 6561 0 1 New Basotho Democratic National Party 8783 1 5938 0 1 New Marematlou Freedom Party 9129 1 5106 0 1 0 Basutoland Congress Party 9823 1 2745 0 1 –2 New Lesotho Freedom Party 3984 0 759 0 0 0 Lesotho Education Party 377 0 0 0 Popular Front for Democracy 15477 1 162 0 1 0 Kopanang Basotho Party 29 0 0 0 United Party 18 0 0 0 Independents 14243 0 0 0 Vacant 1 1 – 0 916230 African Elections Database, CLEA By-elections A by-election was held in Makhaleng on 30 June 2007 to determine the MP of that constituency; it was won by the LCD.LCD wins Makhaleng constituency https://web.archive.org/web/20070930020751/http://www.lesotho.gov.ls/articles/2007/LCD_WINS_MAKHALENG.php 2007-09-30 Lesotho Government Portal, 2 July 2007 Full results for the by-election were: 'Mankati Masobeng Lesotho Congress for Democracy 2165 Thaane Ramafikeng All Basotho Convention 1585 Antony Pitso Lephoto National Independent Party 304 Gabriel Molahlehi Ramaphalla Basutoland Congress Party 282 Gerard Khathu Khathu Basotho National Party 262 Chobane Moqekela Alliance of Congress Parties 71 Bernard Pheko Khoeli Marematlou Freedom Party 51 Joseph Motheo Nchaka Basotho Batho Democratic Party 47 119 11174 Government of Lesotho, Psephos References Category:Elections in Lesotho Lesotho General Category:Election and referendum articles with incomplete results Lesotho Category:February 2007 elections