VZCZCXRO7553
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHRN
DE RUEHMR #0090/01 0571218
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 261218Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2651
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 3000

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000090 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT ALSO FOR AF/S 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO: FINAL RESULTS OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS 
 
REF: MASERU 87 AND PREVIOUS 
 
MASERU 00000090  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY:  The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has 
released the final results of the February 17, 2007 Lesotho 
National Assembly election, with a controlling share of seats 
going to the governing Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). 
Voter turnout was 49 percent, and participation by young voters 
seems to have been limited (especially in the rural areas).  The 
All Basotho Convention (ABC) won most of the non-LCD 
constituencies, while the Alliance of Congress Parties (ACP) 
picked up one constituency.  Major opposition parties have filed 
complaints with the IEC regarding electoral irregularities, and 
court cases stemming from the election will unfold over the 
coming weeks and months.  Smaller parties without alliances with 
the LCD or ABC posted only modest returns.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
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The Numbers 
 
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¶2. Parliamentary seats were allocated as follows: 
 
 
 
                         Constituency  Proportional 
 
Party name                      Seats  Seats 
 
                                              Total 
 
 
 
All Basotho Convention             17      0    17 
 
Lesotho Congress for Democracy     61      0    61 
 
 
 
Alliance of Congress Parties        1      1     2 
 
Basotho Batho Democratic Party      0      1     1 
 
Basutoland Congress Party           0      1     1 
 
Basotho Democratic National Party   0      1     1 
 
Basotho National Party              0      3     3 
 
Lesotho Workers Party               0     10    10 
 
Marematlou Freedom Party            0      1     1 
 
National Independent Party          0     21    21 
 
New Lesotho Freedom Party           0      0     0 
 
Popular Front For Democracy         0      1     1 
 
 
 
TOTALS                             79*    40   119* 
 
 
 
(*) - One LCD Candidate died after the printing of ballots but 
before the elections, necessitating a bi-election. 
 
 
 
¶3.  The results reflect a rural/urban split, with the ABC's 
support coming almost exclusively from urban areas, while rural 
areas remained LCD strongholds.  The ABC and the Basotho 
National Party (BNP) indicated that they intend to take legal 
action regarding claimed irregularities prior to and during 
polling day.  Two of the alleged issues are the alleged use of 
official vehicles by ministers to ferry voters to polling 
stations and the donation of school equipment to certain 
constituencies on the eve of the election, after the end of the 
official campaign period. 
 
 
 
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Local vs. International Opinion 
 
 
MASERU 00000090  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
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¶4.  Domestic election monitors tended to see Lesotho's election 
conditions in a harsher light than international observers.  In 
their interim statements, international observers such as 
Southern African Development Community (SADC), African Union 
(AU), SADC-Parliamentary Forum, the Commonwealth, and the 
Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) generally stated 
that the elections were free and fair.  Local observers, 
including the Lesotho Council of NGOs (LCN), the Crossroads 
Youth Organization (supported by the German Diplomatic Service), 
and the Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL) each stressed that 
the fairness of the elections has yet to be determined. 
 
 
 
¶5.  International and local observers both criticized the use by 
major parties of smaller parties as "surrogates" to claim larger 
portions of the proportional representation seats (see REFTEL 
for a fuller explanation of the allocation of constituency and 
proportional representation parliamentary seats under the "Mixed 
Member Proportional" (MMP) system).  Most observers saw the use 
of "surrogates" (the National Independent Party (NIP) for the 
LCD and the Lesotho Workers Party (LWP) for the ABC) as a 
subversion of the intent of the MMP system. 
 
 
 
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We Haven't Heard The Last... 
 
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¶6.  COMMENT:  It is still unclear what the composition of the 
new cabinet will look like, as five LCD Ministers failed in 
their re-election bids (though they may retain seats, and 
possibly be reappointed to Ministerial posts, due to their 
inclusion in the NIP party list or through appointments to the 
Senate).  During a recent press conference, Prime Minister and 
LCD Party Leader Pakalitha Mosisili stated that he is under no 
obligation to include members of the allied NIP party in his new 
cabinet.  It is also worthy of note that the opposition is 
making political hay of the fact that the 2006 census, due out 
in December 2006, has still not been made public.  Sensing a 
conspiracy (not unusual in such a spread-out, mountainous 
country with poor communications), opposition figures state that 
the census would prove fraud with regard to the large number of 
voters reported in certain rural areas.  Regardless of the 
accuracy of this claim, it is clear that arguments concerning 
the 2007 National Assembly election will predictably dominate 
Lesotho's political landscape for some time to come.  We should 
note, however, that despite numerous rallies, roundtables, and 
the like, on the whole there is a commitment to set parameters 
through legislative reforms or court cases in this burgeoning 
democracy.  END COMMENT. 
PERRY