Lesotho

National Assembly

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections.

Background

Election date(s)
03 Jun 2017
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature
07 Mar 2017
Timing of election
Early elections
Number of seats at stake
120
Scope of elections
Full renewal

Candidates

Number of parties contesting the election
30
Total number of candidates
1,374
Number of male candidates
943
Number of female candidates
431
Percentage of women candidates
31.4%

Voter turnout

Registered voters
1,254,506

Results

About the election

Former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's All Basotho Convention (ABC) came first in snap elections but failed to win an outright majority. On 16 June, Mr. Thabane was again sworn in as Prime Minister in a new coalition government, comprising his ABC, the Alliance of Democrats (AD), the Basotho National Party (BNP) and the Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL), which jointly hold 63 seats in the 121-member National Assembly.

The 2017 elections - the third poll in five years - were triggered after Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili of the Democratic Congress (DC) lost a vote of confidence in March. Mr. Mosisili had been leading a seven-party coalition since 2015. His deputy, Mr. Monyake Moleleki, defected with a number of DC members and joined the ABC in passing the March 2017 no confidence vote against Mr. Mosisili urging the King to appoint Mr. Moleleki as the new Prime Minister. Mr. Mosisili chose to dissolve parliament instead of resigning from the post in favour of Mr. Moleleki. King Letsie III subsequently dissolved parliament thus paving the way to the snap elections held in June 2017.

Number of parties winning seats
12
Percentage of parties winning seats
40.0%
Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition
42.5%
Alternation of power after elections
Yes
Number of parties in government
4
Names of parties in government
All Basotho Convention party (ABC), Alliance of Democrats (AD), Basotho National Party (BNP), Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL)

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Parties or coalitions winning seats
Political group Total Majority Proportional
All Basotho Convention (ABC) 51 50 1
Democratic Congress (DC) 30 26 4
Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) 11 1 10
Alliance of Democrats (AD) 9 1 8
Movement for Economic Change (MEC) 6 1 5
Basotho National Party (BNP) 5 0 5
Popular Front For Democracy (PFD) 3 1 2
Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL) 1 0 1
Basotho Congress Party (BCP) 1 0 1
Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP) 1 0 1
National Independence Party (NIP) 1 0 1
Democratic Party of Lesotho (DPL) 1 0 1
Members elected, by sex
Number of men elected
95
Number of women elected
27
Percentage of women elected
22.1%
Women Directly Elected
27
Other notes on the elections

Note on the number of members:

In accordance with Article 63 (1) and Article 64 (1) of the Constitution, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker may be elected "either from among the persons who are members [of the National Assembly] or from among other persons". The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, who assumed the post in June 2017, are not elected members of the National Assembly. The current legislature thus comprises 122 members in all: 120 elected members, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.

Note:

Elections in three constituencies were not held in June 2017 due to the passing on of candidates. The All Basotho Convention (ABC) won the three seats in differed elections held on 30 September, thereby increasing its share from 48 to 51 seats. The distribution of seats above reflects the results of the differed elections. The number of women remained at 27 out of 122 members.

Sources

Sources:

National Assembly (13.06.2017, 15.06.2017, 02.11.2017, 03.11.2017, 14.11.2017)

Independent Electoral Commission

BBC

Lesotho Times

Al Jazeera

Africa Research Institute

African Arguments

News 24

New legislature

Total number of men after the election
95
Total number of women after the election
27
Percentage of women after the election
22.1%
First-term parliamentarians
No information available
Percentage of first-term parliamentarians
No information available
Date of the first session
12 Jun 2017

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature
Sephiri Enoch Motanyane (Male)
Date of birth: 1939
Date of election
12 Jun 2017

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No