Lesotho
More than 99% of Lesotho's population is ethnically Basotho; other
ethnic groups include Europeans, Asians, and Xhosa. The country's
population is 80% Christian, the majority of whom are Roman
Catholic. Other religions are Islam, Hindu, and indigenous beliefs.
Sesotho and English are official languages, and other languages
spoken include Xhosa. |
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Lesotho gained independence from Britain on October 4, 1966. In
January 1970 the ruling Basotho National Party (BNP) appeared set to
lose the first post-independence general elections when Prime
Minister Leabua Jonathan annulled the election. He refused to cede
power to the Basotho Congress Party (BCP) and imprisoned its
leadership.
The BNP ruled by decree until January 1986 when a military coup
forced them out of office. The Military Council that came into power
granted executive powers to King Moshoeshoe II, who was until then a
ceremonial monarch. In 1990, however, the King was forced into exile
after a falling out with the army. His son was installed as King
Letsie III.
The chairman of the military junta, Major General Metsing Lekhanya,
was ousted in 1991 and then replaced by Major General Phisoane
Ramaema, who handed over power to a democratically elected
government of the BCP in 1993. Moshoeshoe II returned from exile in
1992 as an ordinary citizen. After the return to democratic
government, King Letsie III tried unsuccessfully to persuade the BCP
government to reinstate his father (Moshoeshoe II) as head of state.
In August 1994, Letsie III staged a coup which was backed by the
military and deposed the BCP government. The new government did not
receive full international recognition. Member states of the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) engaged in
negotiations aimed at the reinstatement of the BCP government. One
of the conditions put forward by the King for the return of the BCP
government was that his father should be re-installed as head of
state. After protracted negotiations, the BCP government was
reinstated and the King abdicated in favor of his father in 1995,
but Moshoeshoe II died in a car accident in 1996 and was again
succeeded by his son, Letsie III. The ruling BCP split over
leadership disputes in 1997.
Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle formed a new party, the Lesotho
Congress for Democracy (LCD), and was followed by a majority of
Members of Parliament, which enabled him to form a new government.
The LCD won the general elections in 1998 under the leadership of
Pakalitha Mosisili, who had succeeded Mokhehle as party leader.
Despite the elections being pronounced free and fair by local and
international observers and a subsequent special commission
appointed by SADC, the opposition political parties rejected the
results.
Opposition protests in the country intensified, culminating in a
violent demonstration outside the royal palace in August 1998. When
junior members of the armed services mutinied in September, the
government requested a SADC task force to intervene to prevent a
coup and restore stability. A military group of South African and
Botswana troops entered the country in September, put down the
mutiny, and withdrew in May 1999. Looting, casualties, and
widespread destruction of property followed.
An Interim Political Authority (IPA), charged with reviewing the
electoral structure in the country, was created in December 1998.
The IPA devised a proportional electoral system to ensure that there
would be opposition in the National Assembly. The new system
retained the existing 80 elected Assembly seats, but added 40 seats
to be filled on a proportional basis. Elections were held under this
new system in May 2002, and the LCD won again. For the first time,
due to the inclusion of proportional seats, opposition political
parties won significant numbers of seats. Elections were held again
in February 2007. Nine parties hold all 40 of the proportional
seats, with the governing party-aligned National Independent Party
(NIP) having the largest share (21). The LCD has 62 of the 80
constituency-based seats, and All Basotho Congress (ABC) holds 17. |
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