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General elections were held in Lesotho on 24 May 1998, except in the Moyeni constituency, where voting was postponed until 1 August due to the death of one of the candidates. [1] The result was a comprehensive victory for the new Lesotho Congress for Democracy, which claimed 79 of the 80 seats. The party was formed by a breakaway from the Basutoland Congress Party, which had won the 1993 elections.
Of the 1,017,753 registered voters, there were 593,955 valid votes. [2]
Due to the unrepresentative representation in seats, with the second placed party only having a single seat, widespread protests and rioting with arson, violence, and looting broke out, which led to the government sending a plea for military assistance to the Southern African Development Community. Led by South Africa, Operation Boleas, an "intervention to restore democracy and the rule of law" was launched, which took place from 22 September 1998 – 15 May 1999 (8 months).
