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All 120 seats in the National Assembly 61 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
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General elections were held in Lesotho on 7 October 2022 to elect all 120 members of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament. [1] [2]
The previous general elections in 2017 were called after prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili lost a vote of no confidence. [3] In the election, the All Basotho Convention (ABC), led by Tom Thabane, won 48 seats. The Democratic Congress (DC) led by Mosisili won 30 seats, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy party (LCD) secured 11 seats whilst numerous minor parties won 27. The ABC won three additional seats; however, the results of those constituencies were declared null and void due to the deaths of some candidates contesting those seats. [4] [5] Following the election, the ABC announced its intention to form coalition government with the Reformed Congress of Lesotho, the Alliance of Democrats and the Basotho National Party. [6] The new government was sworn in on 16 June and Thabane assumed office as prime minister. [7]
Thabane's estranged wife, Lipolelo, was murdered shortly before his inauguration. [7] In 2020, Thabane began to face pressure to step down due to his alleged role in Lipolelo's murder. The coalition government subsequently collapsed after ABC's alliance partners withdrew their support. [8] Thabane resigned from the premiership in May, and finance minister Moeketsi Majoro succeeded him. [9] The ABC then formed another government with the Basotho National Party. [10] Thabane later resigned as leader of the ABC, and in February 2022, the party elected Nkaku Kabi to succeed him. [11]
Majoro did not contest the ABC primaries, while several ABC ministers lost their nominations. [12]
The 120 members of the National Assembly are elected using the mixed-member proportional representation system, with voters casting two votes. Eighty members are elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting, with the remaining 40 elected from a single nationwide constituency as leveling seats, which are allocated to make seat totals reflect the national vote share. Any party winning more seats in the single-member constituencies than their national vote share entitles them to will not be awarded more seats. [13]
Polling stations opened at 07:00. Delegations from the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations and the European Union were present to observe the elections. [14]
Voting concluded at 17:00. Whilst there were no reports of significant upheavals to the electoral process, polling stations turned away several individuals whose names were not present on the electoral roll. Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) director, Mpaiphele Maqutu, said turnout was higher than in previous elections. However, the IEC did acknowledge that participation in some rural regions was low, with a lighter voter presence in places such as Thaba-Tseka. [15]
| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample | ABC | DC | LCD | AD | MEC | BNP | PFD | NIP | RCL | BCP | MFP | SR | BBDP | BAP | RFP | Others | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 election | 7 Oct 2022 | 581,692 | 7.1 | 24.7 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | — | — | — | 2.1 | — | 5.4 | 38.9 | 5.9 | 14.2 |
| Afrobarometer/Advision | Feb–Mar 2022 | 1,200 | 21 | 42 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | 8 | — | 2 | 21 |
| Afrobarometer/Advision | 23 Feb–11 Mar 2020 | 1,200 | 18.7 | 42.3 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 10.9 | 6.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 0.2 | — | — | 0.9 | 23.6 |
| 2017 election | 3 Jun 2017 | 581,692 | 40.5 | 25.8 | 9.0 | 7.3 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 | — | — | — | — | 3.0 | 14.7 |
The elections were postponed in the Stadium Area constituency following the death of the Basotholand Total Liberation Congress candidate.
The ruling All Basotho Convention lost all its constituency seats, including that of party leader Nkaku Kabi. [16] Although the Democratic Congress party ran its campaign opposing the ABC, the party's recent support for the coalition government allowed the new Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party to seem more credible as a new start. [17]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FPTP | List | Total | +/– | |||||
| Revolution for Prosperity | 201,478 | 38.89 | 57 | 0 | 57 | New | ||
| Democratic Congress | 128,517 | 24.81 | 18 | 11 | 29 | –1 | ||
| All Basotho Convention | 37,809 | 7.30 | 0 | 8 | 8 | –40 | ||
| Basotho Action Party | 29,285 | 5.65 | 0 | 6 | 6 | New | ||
| Alliance of Democrats | 20,843 | 4.02 | 2 | 3 | 5 | –4 | ||
| Movement for Economic Change | 17,281 | 3.34 | 1 | 3 | 4 | –2 | ||
| Lesotho Congress for Democracy | 12,326 | 2.38 | 0 | 3 | 3 | –8 | ||
| Socialist Revolutionaries | 10,738 | 2.07 | 1 | 1 | 2 | New | ||
| Basotho National Party | 7,367 | 1.42 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –4 | ||
| Popular Front for Democracy | 4,655 | 0.90 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –2 | ||
| Mpulule Political Summit | 4,485 | 0.87 | 0 | 1 | 1 | New | ||
| Basotho Covenant Movement | 4,117 | 0.79 | 0 | 1 | 1 | New | ||
| HOPE – Mphatlalatsane | 3,717 | 0.72 | 0 | 1 | 1 | New | ||
| National Independent Party | 3,704 | 0.71 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Basotho Patriotic Party | 3,201 | 0.62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| United for Change | 2,940 | 0.57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Lesotho People's Congress | 2,075 | 0.40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Alliance for Free Movement | 2,002 | 0.39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Basutoland Congress Party | 1,911 | 0.37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | ||
| Reformed Congress of Lesotho | 1,809 | 0.35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | ||
| Marematlou Freedom Party | 1,767 | 0.34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 | ||
| Basotho Liberation Movement | 1,530 | 0.30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Basotho Democratic Congress | 1,167 | 0.23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Basotho Democratic National Party | 1,165 | 0.22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Lesotho Economic Freedom | 1,153 | 0.22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Basotho Economic Enrichment | 1,076 | 0.21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Basotho Total Liberation Congress | 888 | 0.17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Khothalang Basotho | 828 | 0.16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| African Unity Movement | 750 | 0.14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Your Opportunity and Network Alliance | 719 | 0.14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Lekhotla la Mekhoa le Meetlo | 579 | 0.11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Basotho Social Party | 557 | 0.11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Metsi and Natural Resources Party | 533 | 0.10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Basotho Poverty Solution Party | 472 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Bahlabani ba Tokoloho Movement | 468 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Development Party for All | 469 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Basutholand African National Congress | 446 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Revolutionary Alliance of Democracy | 432 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Tsepo Ea Basotho | 423 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| African Ark | 344 | 0.07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Basotho Council for Economic Freedom | 302 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Basotho Redevelopment Party | 288 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Empowerment Movement for Basotho | 282 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Mookoli Theological Front | 264 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Yearn for Economic Sustainability | 231 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| People's Convention | 225 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Allies for Patriotic Change | 195 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Prayer Shawl and Light | 118 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||
| Independents | 123 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 518,054 | 100.00 | 80 | 40 | 120 | 0 | ||
| Valid votes | 518,054 | 98.74 | ||||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 6,594 | 1.26 | ||||||
| Total votes | 524,648 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,388,117 | 37.80 | ||||||
| Source: IEC | ||||||||
On 11 October, Revolution for Prosperity leader Sam Matekane announced that his party had reached a coalition agreement with the Alliance of Democrats and the Movement for Economic Change. Matekane will lead the government as Prime Minister. [18]
PM Majoro submitted his formal resignation to the King on 14 October; the King accepted, and asked Majoro to remain until the new PM was inaugurated. This occurred on 28 October after the new parliament was sworn in. [19]
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.
Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili is a former Mosotho politician who was the fourth prime minister of Lesotho from May 1998 to June 2012 and again from March 2015 to June 2017. He led the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) to a near-total victory in the 1998 election, and under his leadership the party also won majorities in the 2002 and 2007 elections. While serving as Prime Minister, Mosisili was also Minister of Defence.
The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) is a political party in Lesotho.
Thomas Motsoahae Thabane is a Mosotho politician who was the fifth prime minister of Lesotho from 2012 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2020. He founded the All Basotho Convention (ABC) in 2006 and led the party until 2022.
General elections were held in Lesotho on 17 February 2007. They had originally been 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. The bringing forward of the 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.
The All Basotho Convention is a political party in Lesotho. The party was formed in October 2006 and founded by Tom Thabane, a former minister in the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) led by the government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili. Nkaku Kabi has led the party since February 2022.
Pontso S. M. Sekatle is a politician and academic in Lesotho. Sekatle lectured at the National University of Lesotho from 1984 to 2001. In June 2001, she was appointed to the Senate of Lesotho, and on July 6, 2001 she became Minister of Health and Social Welfare. She was a member of the Qacha's Nek constituency for third time with the win in the elections in 2012 and was appointed the Minister of Local government and Chieftainship Affairs.
General elections were held in Lesotho on 26 May 2012. The incumbent Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili's newly formed Democratic Congress won a majority of single-member seats. He also won his seat by the second-largest margin of victory. However, they only had a plurality in the overall tally and coalition talks are taking place.
General elections were held in Lesotho on 28 February 2015 for all 120 seats of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Lesotho, more than two years ahead of schedule due to the 2014 political crisis. Following mediation facilitated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), King Letsie III on the advice of the incumbent Prime Minister Tom Thabane, dissolved the Eighth Parliament and called a snap election.
Mothetjoa Metsing is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Lesotho. He is a member and current leader of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). He served in the government of Prime Minister Tom Thabane between 2012 and 2015. In 2014, he was involved in controversy over an alleged coup attempt against the prime minister that was eventually resolved over calls for an early election.
Early general elections were held in Lesotho on 3 June 2017 to elect all 120 seats of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament. The elections were called more than three years ahead of schedule due to a successful vote of no confidence against the incumbent Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.
The Alliance of Democrats is a political party in Lesotho.
'Maesaiah or 'Maesiah Thabane is the wife of the former prime minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane since her marriage to Thabane on 27 August 2017.
Moeketsi Majoro is a Mosotho economist and politician who served as the sixth prime minister of Lesotho from May 2020 to October 2022. He was previously the minister of Finance in the cabinet of Tom Thabane from 2017 to 2020. Majoro has been representing the Thetsane Constituency No. 33 in the National Assembly since his election in 2017. He was formerly a senator and the minister of Development Planning from 2013 to 2015. Majoro is a member of the All Basotho Convention (ABC).
Mathibeli Edwin Mokhothu is a Mosotho educator and politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, as well as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Congress, he is the party's leader and previous deputy leader. He was formerly the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly before the party formed part of a coalition with the All Basotho Convention in May 2020. From 2015 to 2017, he served as the Minister of Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation. Mokhothu is the MP for the Qhoali No. 68 constituency.
'Matšepo Ramakoae is a Lesotho politician. She was serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations from May 2020 to October 2022. She is the legislator from the Matsieng constituency No. 45. Ramakoae served as the Deputy Minister of Finance from 2012 until 2015.
Events in the year 2022 in Lesotho.
The Socialist Revolutionaries is a political party in Lesotho founded in October 2017 by Teboho Mojapela, a former member of the ABC. The party was registered on 28 January 2018.
Tefo Mapesela is a Mosotho accountant and politician who serves as the leader of the Basotho Patriotic Party. He has been a proportional representation member of the National Assembly since April 2023, after previously serving as the legislator for Mokhotlong No. 79 constituency from 2015 until 2022. A former member of the All Basotho Convention, Mapesela served as the Minister of Trade and Industry from 2017 until 2018, as the Minister of Defence and National Security from 2018 to 2020 and as the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security between 2020 and 2021.
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