electoral performance

The formation of the Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party in March 2022
has radically altered Lesotho’s political landscape. Apart from the new calibre
of political leadership, the party has, in line with its name, revolutionised
some of the traditions long held by Lesotho’s political parties. Contrary to
the closed primary elections that most parties use, the RFP introduced a
combination of centralised and technocratic approaches in determining the
list of party candidates for the October 2022 elections. With the former, the
party reserved candidateship in eleven constituencies for persons appointed
by the leader. Four front runners in the primary elections in the remaining
constituencies would be subjected to various screening methods with the
final determination to be made by the party leadership. The detractors have
mocked the RFP’s approach as undemocratic and undermining the will of
the people. The party also experienced internal resistance that led to it being
taken to the law courts where some decisions were reversed. Using various
data collection methods, this paper discusses the strategies used by the RFP
and shows that much as they are not common in Lesotho, these strategies
are not entirely new in politics as they are used in other democratic systems.
An examination of the October 2022 elections results shows that despite
the court challenges, the RFP’s candidate selection strategies had a positive
impact on the party’s performance as well as on the profile of the resultant
National Assembly.