Mohloai Mpesi
LESOTHO has failed to implement key recommendations made by the European Union (EU) Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) following the October 2022 general elections.
This according to a report released this week by the EU Election Follow-up Mission (EFM), which was deployed to Lesotho from 2 to 29 November 2025, to assess progress on the proposed reforms.
The EOM issued 21 recommendations aimed at improving the organisation, management and conduct of future elections. However, the latest findings show limited progress ahead of the next general elections expected in early 2028.
The follow-up mission, led by Chief of Mission Andreas Schieder, a Member of the European Parliament, was tasked with evaluating the extent to which Lesotho has acted on the recommendations.
The report indicates that progress has been uneven, with none of the recommendations fully implemented to date.
The EOM’s recommendations span key areas including the legal framework, electoral administration, voter registration, media freedom, political finance and dispute resolution.
They are aimed at strengthening civic education, improving the accuracy of voter registration, and ensuring that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) provides secondary legislation by formalising and publishing its decisions and procedural rules governing electoral processes.
Among the recommendations, the mission urged authorities to strengthen the implementation of continuous civic education, including in educational institutions, and to roll out timely voter education campaigns both offline and online, with a specific focus on youth, women and persons with disabilities.
The EOM also called for measures to improve the accuracy and inclusiveness of the voter register, and for the IEC to formalise and publish decisions and rules of procedure for electoral processes.
Further recommendations include granting the IEC budgetary independence through direct and timely access to funds approved in the national budget, alongside stronger transparency and accountability mechanisms.
The mission also proposed expanding the IEC’s oversight powers to cover all political party expenditures and donations in order to enhance transparency in campaign financing. It further called for reasonable limits on campaign spending and a prohibition on the use of state resources to ensure a level playing field.
Additionally, the report emphasised the need to strengthen the independence of the Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA) by revising its appointment mechanisms in line with regional and international standards.
As part of its follow-up, the EFM convened a roundtable in Maseru on 21 November 2025 to review progress on these recommendations, identify outstanding challenges and map the way forward ahead of future elections.
The report concludes that progress has been minimal.
“The EFM found progress to be uneven: nine recommendations remain unaddressed, four show activity without implementation, one has been partially met, and none has been fully implemented to date. For seven recommendations, it is still too early in the electoral cycle to assess progress,” the report states.
Among other key proposals, the report recommends avoiding the enactment of essential changes to electoral legislation within six months before elections.
“Given the circumstances in the lead-up to the 2022 elections, the EOM emphasised that stability and predictability of the law are key principles in international practice, in line with regional standards such as the SADC Model Law on Elections, which requires polls to be conducted under clear and unambiguous legal frameworks.”
The report also highlights regulatory gaps within the IEC, noting that while the legal framework is generally comprehensive, it lacks sufficient regulations to operationalise electoral processes.
“Although the IEC has the legal authority to issue regulations to guide and operationalise electoral procedures, it did not issue any regulations or publish decisions during the previous electoral process. This may have undermined transparency and legal certainty,” the report notes.
While the IEC has developed some internal policy papers, the report urges the commission to convert these into formal, published regulations ahead of the next elections.
IEC’s Acting Director of Elections, Lydia Macheli, told the Lesotho Times this week that the Commission had begun implementing some of the recommendations.
“We have made progress on voter registration and have also advanced civic voter education. We recently issued a tender for an assessment as part of plans to develop a comprehensive curriculum,” Ms Macheli said.
Ms Macheli added that amendments to the Electoral Act 2011 — including provisions to formalise national ID-based voter registration and introduce diaspora voting — remain pending before the National Assembly.
“The amendment is already before Parliament; we are awaiting its passage,” she said.
On collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police, Ms Macheli explained that while the IEC conducts its own voter registration, it works with Home Affairs to verify personal details.
“We register voters on the ground and then verify their details against the Home Affairs database using ID numbers and names. Where discrepancies arise, we return to the voters for clarification,” she said.
To date, the IEC has registered at least 567 000 voters, although voter cards have not yet been issued.
She acknowledged that discrepancies in name spellings remained a recurring challenge but said these were resolved through verification processes.
Addressing concerns over financial autonomy, Ms Macheli said the law already provided for the IEC’s independence, but implementation remained pending.
“The issue of financial independence is provided for in law, and it was raised again during a recent meeting with political stakeholders. However, the proposed IEC Bill, which would strengthen this autonomy, is still before Parliament.
“It is not within the IEC’s control. We fully support it, but the process lies with Parliament.”
National Assembly Speaker, Tlohang Sekhamane, also pledged Parliament’s commitment to implementing the EU recommendations.
“I recently met with European Union representatives and assured them that Parliament will robustly act on recommendations that fall within its mandate. We also discussed how the EU can support implementation,” Mr Sekhamane said.
The mission also raised serious concerns about the treatment of journalists in Lesotho, citing the 2023 killing of Tšenolo FM presenter Ralikonelo “Leqhashasha” Joki and the “unlawful” arrest of Lesotho Times editor, Mohalenyane Phakela, by the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences in August last year.
It further warned about the risks posed by an unregulated online space, which has become increasingly vulnerable to misinformation.
“The media environment in Lesotho remains fragile, characterised by weak regulatory independence, limited financial resources, polarisation, and insufficient safeguards for editorial freedom,” the report states.
“The state broadcaster remains under ministerial control, the communications regulator lacks institutional autonomy, and dispute-resolution mechanisms are largely ineffective. The fatal attack on a journalist in 2023, along with more recent incidents of intimidation and arrest of a newspaper editor have heightened concerns about journalists’ safety and self-censorship.
“The unregulated online information space has become increasingly vulnerable to misinformation. These persistent weaknesses mirror the EOM’s media-related recommendations, which remain largely unaddressed. It adds that these challenges reflect longstanding media-related recommendations that remain largely unimplemented.”
Despite these concerns, the report welcomed the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution as a positive step, noting that it lays the foundation for an independent Media Council and Media Ombudsman.
However, the amendment is currently being challenged in the Constitutional Court, while the Computer Crime and Cybersecurity Bill of 2024 also remains pending before Parliament.
