MASERU — The ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) party will hold its annual leadership conference this weekend.
The conference, which begins on Saturday, comes as the LCD is grappling with serious factional fights that have threatened to split the party.
Key on the agenda is the issue of petitions filed by constituencies calling for the disbanding of the party’s national executive committee.
At least 35 out of the party’s 80 constituencies last month petitioned the party to axe seven of the nine members of the party’s supreme national executive committee.
Only party leader Pakalitha Mosisili and deputy leader Lesao Lehohla were spared.
The committees said they had lost confidence in the national executive and wanted it disbanded.
Among those targeted in the petitions were party secretary general Mothetjoa Metsing, treasurer Popane Lebesa, chairman Thabang Pheko and spokesperson Dr Motloheloa Phooko.
The Lesotho Times understands that only 26 out of the 35 petitions sent to the LCD headquarters in September will be discussed at the conference.
When the constituencies filed their petitions last month the national executive committee ignored the petitions and issued a circular saying the “leadership conference will make a decision on the constituencies’ demands”.
The circular said the annual general meeting could also deal with the matter.
The LCD holds its general conference between December and January every year.
Lehohla confirmed yesterday that the issue of constituencies’ petition was on the agenda.
“It is a topical issue nowadays and it is expected that it will be tabled before the leadership conference,” Lehohla said.
“No doubt, it will come up at the conference and a decision will have to be made.”
Lehohla said the leadership conference did not have executive powers “but is required by the LCD constitution” to make recommendations to the annual general meeting or recommend the holding of the extraordinary conference to deal with specific urgent matters.
“This subject of constituencies saying they have no confidence in the executive committee can be deferred to the upcoming general conference,” Lehohla said.
“The leadership conference could suggest either that the issue be referred to a general conference or recommend that a special congress be called to deal with the matter.”
The constituencies accused the executive committee of being inept, disloyal and negligent.
One of the sensitive areas addressed by the petition was the committee’s failure to update constituencies of developments in the ongoing investigations on the attacks on the State House April 22, 2009 and the attempted assassination of Mosisili.
