Lesotho’s Independent Electoral Commission on Monday announced business mogul Sam Matekane’s Revolution for Prosperity party has won 56 of the 120 constituencies in the general elections, reported The Reuters.
Matekane’s seven months old party, however, fell short of winning an outright majority and will have to find a coalition partner as his party is five seats away of a 61-seat majority that could have ended long-running political gridlock.
For the past decade, the small Southern African state has been governed by a string of coalition governments that have proved fractious and frail, and no premier has served out a full five-year term.
As per results declared by Lesotho’s electoral body, the Mathibeli Mokhothu-led Democratic Congress party came in second securing 29 seats.
The All Basotho Convention party (ABC), which led the outgoing government, suffered a sharp drop in support, winning only eight seats. About 1.5 million people were registered to vote in the October 7 election.
The ABC party has been in power since 2017, but divisions within the party have seen two prime ministers installed over a period of five years. In 2020, ABC leader Thomas Thabane stepped down as prime minister after being charged with the murder of his ex-wife. Charges against him were dropped in July. In August, his successor, Moeketsi Majoro, declared a state of emergency, which was later declared as unconstitutional by Lesotho’s highest court.
Majoro decided not to seek another term after being ousted as party head earlier this year.
Surrounded by South Africa on all sides, Lesotho is ranked among one of the world’s poorest countries, with over 30 percent of the country’s population living on less than $1.90 a day. A constitutional monarchy where the king has no formal power, Lesotho has long been struggling with a political turmoil that has hampered the country’s development.
