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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]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesotho Congress for Democracy | 359,764 | 60.57 | 79 | New | |
| Basotho National Party | 145,210 | 24.45 | 1 | +1 | |
| Basutoland Congress Party | 62,313 | 10.49 | 0 | –65 | |
| Marematlou Freedom Party | 7,546 | 1.27 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sefate Democratic Union | 3,160 | 0.53 | 0 | New | |
| Popular Front for Democracy | 3,077 | 0.52 | 0 | 0 | |
| National Progressive Party | 2,897 | 0.49 | 0 | New | |
| National Independent Party | 1,644 | 0.28 | 0 | 0 | |
| Congress for Democracy Party | 1,185 | 0.20 | 0 | New | |
| United Democratic Party | 357 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kopanang Basotho Party | 174 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lesotho Education Party | 92 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independents | 6,536 | 1.10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 593,955 | 100.00 | 80 | +15 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,017,753 | – | |||
| Source: Nohlen et al. | |||||
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