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 […]
This paper examines the impact of an electoral system on women’s participation in electoral politics and their representation in the legislature. It advances the argument that while the nature of an electoral system influences the degree of women’s representation other factors also play a role. Upon independence in 1966 Lesotho adopted the first-past-the-post system. This […]
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 […]
The main purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of why African electoral systems should be reformed and how to do so in order to improve the quality of representation, participation, and government effectiveness. We attempt to offer a generic framework, a menu, so to speak, whereby African political parties and […]
This study reviews the participation of independent, non-partisan candidates in Africa. It examines the development of competitive elections on the continent between 1945 and 2005, a period which includes both decolonisation and democratic transition elections. It also focuses on the participation of independent candidates in these elections at both legislative and presidential levels. It further […]
On 25 May 2002 voters in the small Southern African kingdom of Lesotho went to the polls in the third general election since the country returned to democracy after a long period of civilian dictatorship (1970-86) and military rule (1986-93). Although voting in all Lesotho’s general elections has usually gone smoothly, in every case prior […]
Elections, which constitute the basis of the concept and practice of modern liberal democracies, have a twofold significance: they serve as a tool for legitimating the political regime and they provide the main forum for both political competition and popular political participation. In both cases they help to secure popular control over government – the […]
