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Lesotho: Lesotho Government Profile

2012/03/16

King Letsie III

Head of state: King Letsie III

King Letsie III succeeded his father, King Moshoeshoe, who was dethroned in 1990.
Five years later, after the return to civilian government and amid political instability, he abdicated and his father was reinstated as monarch.
 
Letsie III was restored as king in 1996 after his father died in a car accident. The monarch has no legislative or executive powers.
 
Thomas Thabane heads a coalition government which ousted his predecessor after elections in May 2012.
 
Mr Thabane's All Basotho Convention, the largest opposition party, teamed up with the Lesotho Congress for Democracy and the Basotho National Party (BNP) to share power and oust the unpopular Pakalitha Mosisili, who had been in power for 14 years.
Mr Mosisili's Democratic Congress party won the most seats, but fell short of the required majority to govern alone.
Mr Mosisili had been in power since 1998, when post-poll wrangling led to weeks of unrest that ultimately triggered military intervention by neighbouring South Africa and Botswana to restore order.
 
Since independence from Britain in 1966, Lesotho has undergone several military coups.
 
Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy under King Letsie III, with a Senate and a National Assembly elected under a mixed first past the post and proportional representation system. The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) under the leadership of Prime Minister Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili won a parliamentary majority in a 2007 election.
 
The result was contested by opposition parties. The SADC carried out mediation efforts through the former Botswana president Ketumile Masire, but evolution was sluggish in 2009. In April 2009, a group of men later named as South African and Mozambican citizens tried to enter the national home by force in an apparent attempt to assassinate the prime minister.
 
The action failed, but a number of people died. Survivors of the shootout fled, but were arrested in neighbouring South Africa. Suspects appeared before courts in South Africa and Lesotho.
Government type: 

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Administrative divisions: 

10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka

Independence: 

4 October 1966 (from the UK)

National holiday: 

Independence Day, 4 October (1966)

Constitution: 

02-avr.-93

Legal system: 

based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: 

18 years of age; universal

Legislative branch: 

bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms) elections: last held 17 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LCD 61, NIP 21, ABC 17, LWP 10, ACP 4, BNP 3, other 4

Judicial branch: 

High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional court

Political parties and leaders : 

Alliance of Congress Parties or ACP including the Lesotho People's Congress or LCP [Kelebone MAOPE], the Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE], and a faction of the Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; All Basotho Convention or ABC [Thomas THABANE]; Basotho Batho Democratic Party or BBDP; Basotho Congress Party or BCP; Basotho Democratic National Party or BDNP [Thabang NYEOE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justin Metsing LEKHANYA]; Basotholand African National Congress or BANC; Christian Democratic Party or CDP [Enerst RAMOKOENA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD (the governing party) [Pakalitha MOSISILI]; Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]

Political pressure groups and leaders: 

Media Institute of Southern Africa, Lesotho chapter [Thabang MATJAMA] (pushes for media freedom)

International organization participation: 

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Flag description: 

three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence

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