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General elections were held in Basutoland on 29 April 1965. The result was a narrow victory for the Basotholand National Party, which led the country to independence as Lesotho on 4 October the following year. [1] Voter turnout was 62.8%. [2]
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General elections were held in Basutoland on 29 April 1965. The result was a narrow victory for the Basotholand National Party, which led the country to independence as Lesotho on 4 October the following year. [1] Voter turnout was 62.8%. [2]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basutoland National Party | 108,140 | 42.01 | 31 | +30 | |
| Basutoland Congress Party | 103,068 | 40.04 | 25 | –5 | |
| Marematlou Freedom Party | 40,414 | 15.70 | 4 | New | |
| Marema-Tlou Party | 5,697 | 2.21 | 0 | –5 | |
| Independents | 79 | 0.03 | 0 | –4 | |
| Total | 257,398 | 100.00 | 60 | –20 | |
| Valid votes | 257,398 | 98.31 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 4,426 | 1.69 | |||
| Total votes | 261,824 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 416,952 | 62.79 | |||
| Source: Nohlen et al. | |||||
Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. As an enclave of South Africa, with which it shares a 1,106 km (687 mi) border, it is the only sovereign enclave in the world outside of the Italian Peninsula. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest peak in Southern Africa. It has an area of over 30,000 km2 (11,600 sq mi) and has a population of about two million. It is the largest enclaved country in the world. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. The country is also known by the nickname The Mountain Kingdom.
The history of people living in the area now known as Lesotho goes back as many as 400 years. Present Lesotho emerged as a single polity under King Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Under Moshoeshoe I, Basotho joined other clans in their struggle against the Lifaqane associated with famine and the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828.
Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. The city was established as a police camp and assigned as the capital after the country became a British protectorate in 1869. When the country achieved independence in 1966, Maseru retained its status as capital. The name of the city is a Sesotho word meaning "red sandstones".
Transkei, officially the Republic of Transkei, was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Bantustan for the Xhosa people, and operated as a nominally independent parliamentary democracy. Its capital was Umtata.
Moshoeshoe II, previously known as Constantine Bereng Seeiso, was the Paramount Chief of Basutoland, succeeding paramount chief Seeiso from 1960 until the country gained full independence from Britain in 1966. He was King of Lesotho from 1966 until his exile in 1990, and from 1995 until his death in 1996.
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Joseph Leabua Jonathan was the first prime minister of Lesotho. He succeeded Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986.
Lesotho elects a legislature on the national level. The Parliament has two chambers: the National Assembly with 120 members, elected for a five-year term by Mixed Member Proportional Representation, 80 of which in single-seat constituencies; and the Senate, with 33 nominated members.
The Basutoland Congress Party is a pan-Africanist and left-wing political party in Lesotho.
Ntsu Mokhehle was a Lesotho politician. He founded Basutoland African Congress (BAC) in 1952. He founded Basutoland Congress Party in 1957 then later in 1997 founded Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). He served as the third prime minister of Lesotho from 2 April 1993 to 17 August 1994 and from 14 September 1994 to 29 May 1998.
Major-General Elias Phisoana Ramaema was Chairman of the Military Council and Council of Ministers of Lesotho from 2 May 1991 to 2 April 1993.
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Lesotho–United States relations are bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Lesotho and the United States of America.
Lesotho–South Africa relations refers to the current and historical bilateral relations of South Africa and Lesotho. Lesotho, which is surrounded by South Africa, depends on South Africa for most of its economic affairs, and its foreign policy is often aligned with that of Pretoria. Both are member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, African Union, Southern African Customs Union and Southern African Development Community. Lesotho, along with Eswatini, have been described as satellite states of South Africa.
General elections were held in Lesotho on 27 and 28 January 1970, the first since independence in 1966. They were won by the opposition Basutoland Congress Party, but without announcing the results, the ruling Basotho National Party carried out a coup d'état by declaring a state of emergency, annulling the election, dissolving parliament and suspending the constitution. King Moshoeshoe II was sent into exile after expressing disapproval of the actions.
2017 Lesotho Independence Cup is a football tournament of Lesotho. It had 4 participants, the top 4 of 2016–17 Lesotho Premier League: Bantu, Lioli, LCS and Kick 4 Life. Part of the prize money would also donate to school or orphanage that were chosen by the participants.
Basotho nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Lesotho, as amended; the Lesotho Citizenship Order, and its revisions; the 1983 Refugees Act; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Lesotho. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Nationality describes the relationship of an individual to the state under international law, whereas citizenship is the domestic relationship of an individual within the nation. In Britain and thus the Commonwealth of Nations, though the terms are often used synonymously outside of law, they are governed by different statutes and regulated by different authorities. Basotho nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus soli, born in Lesotho, or jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in Lesotho or abroad to parents with Basotho nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation.
The following lists events that happened during 2022 in Southern Africa. The countries are those described in the United Nations geoscheme for Southern Africa.
