This paper assesses political party alliances and coalitions in Lesotho, focusing on their causes and their consequences for party systems, democratic consolidation, national cohesion and state governability. We agree with Kapa (2008) that formation of the pre-2007 alliances can be explained in terms of office-seeking theory in that the political elite used alliances to access […]
In 2007, for the first time in Lesotho’s political history, some political parties formed formal electoral pacts, variously dubbed alliances or coalitions, to fight the general election of 17 February. The ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy and the newly formed All Basotho Convention entered into alliances with their smaller counterparts, the National Independent Party and […]
The placing of electoral democracy at the top of the SADC agenda is steadily beginning to pay dividends – Swaziland is the only country in Southern Africa which does not hold democratic elections. Since democratisation in 1993 Lesotho has held four elections. This paper considers the 2007 election, discussing the electoral process and the subsequent […]
