Lesotho will hold parliamentary elections on Friday, amid failures by its politicians to pass constitutional reforms meant to end years of political instability in the South African nation.
The All Basotho Convention (ABC) has been in power since 2017, although disagreements within the party have resulted in the resignation of two prime ministers in the past five years, including Thomas Thabane, who resigned in 2020 after being accused of killing his ex-wife. The charges were ultimately withdrawn after he vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
In August, his replacement as prime minister, Moeketsi Majoro, proclaimed a state of emergency after lawmakers failed to enact two legislation intended to calm political unrest in parliament. The pronouncement was declared unlawful by the highest court of Lesotho last month.
After Majoro was defeated in a party ballot in February, the ABC chose another leader, former health minister Nkaku Kabi, to run for the ticket.
Lesotho’s refreshing lakes and springs, which supply Johannesburg’s commercial center’s taps, are a key source of freshwater for its enormous and dry neighbor, which is encircled on all sides by a South African mountain range.
Since gaining independence from the UK in 1966, Lesotho has had four military takeovers.
South Africa sent troops to Maseru, the country’s capital, in 1998 in response to rioting caused by the opposition. Gunshots were heard in Maseru, the capital, in 2014.
Then, after briefly leaving the country and accusing the military of toppling him, South Africa was compelled to mediate in order to restore peace and permit Prime Minister Thabane’s return.
All aspects of the proposed constitutional revisions, including the function of political parties, regulations regarding floor crossing in the legislature, the appointment of senior officials, and the function of the prime minister, would have been altered.
Lesotho was to be made less prone to political impasses when disagreements arise. But because lawmakers couldn’t agree on them in August, they were rejected.