Lesotho Congress for Democracy

Last updated
Lesotho Congress for Democracy
Leader Mothetjoa Metsing
Founder Ntsu Mokhehle
Founded7 June 1997
Split from Basutoland Congress Party
HeadquartersBonhomme House, Maseru
Ideology Pan-Africanism
Social democracy
Political position Centre-left
International affiliation Socialist International (Observer)
Colors Black, Red, Green
SloganTruth, Justice, Peace
'Nete, Toka, Khotso
National Assembly
3 / 120
Party flag
LCD Lesotho flag.gif
Website
www.lcd.org.ls/

The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) is a political party in Lesotho.

Contents

In 1997, Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle left the Basutoland Congress Party to form with his faction the new Lesotho Congress for Democracy. The new party won the 1998 elections with 60.7% of the popular vote and 79 out of 80 seats. Pakalitha Mosisili became the new party leader and prime minister. At the elections for the National Assembly, 25 May 2002, the party won 54.9% of popular votes and 77 out of 120 seats. In the 17 February 2007 parliamentary election, the party won 62 out of 120 seats. [1]

Major splits from the party occurred in October 2001, when leading LCD members Kelebone Maope and Shakhane Mokhehle left the party to form the Lesotho People's Congress and in October 2006, when Tom Thabane left the party to form the All Basotho Convention.[ citation needed ] Prior to the Lesotho general election, 2012 the party split again with incumbent Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili forming the Democratic Congress and General Secretary Mothetjoa Metsing taking over the party leadership. [2]

Electoral performance

ElectionProportionalConstituencySeats+/-Government
VotesShareVotesShare
1998 359,76460.57
79 / 89
NewSupermajority
2002 304,31654.89309,36357.64
77 / 120
Decrease2.svg 2Majority
2007 did not contest225,09852.47
61 / 120
Decrease2.svg 16Majority
2012 121,07621.94
26 / 120
Decrease2.svg 35Coalition
2015 56,4679.91
12 / 120
Decrease2.svg 14Coalition
2017 52,0528.95
11 / 120
Decrease2.svg 1Opposition
2022 12,1742.36
3 / 120
Decrease2.svg 8Coalition

References

  1. "Lesotho: 2007 National Assembly election results", Electoral Institute for Sustainable democracy in Africa (African Democracy Encyclopaedia Project), February, 2007.
  2. Archived July 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine