MASERU — The ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) party registered a thumping victory in last week’s local government election winning 69 of the 77 contested councils.
The victory suggests the LCD is still the party of choice for thousands of Basotho voters countrywide in spite of the bitter infighting rocking the party.
The main opposition All Basotho Convention (ABC) party, which gave the LCD a fright at the last general election in 2006, won a paltry three councils.
These were Berea Urban Council, Hleoheng Community Council as well as Mohlakeng Community Council.
The Basotho National Party won two councils namely the Thaba-Tseka Urban Council and Sanqabetu Community Council in Mokhotlong district.
The Popular Front for Democracy (PFD) walked away with a single council, the Ts’ale-Moleka Community Council in Butha-Buthe.
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) commissioner, Dr Fako Likoti, told the Lesotho Times yesterday because the PFD had won several electoral divisions nationwide the commission considered the party to be in third place rather than
fourth.
Likoti added that in the two councils of Manonyane Community Council in Roma and Qiloane Community Council in Thaba-Bosiu, the ABC and LCD had a tie.
“In the two community councils of Manonyane and Qiloane, there is a tie between the LCD and the ABC,” Likoti said yesterday.
In the event that there is a tie, the local government electoral law stipulates that there should be a fresh election, according to Lesotho Workers Party (LWP) leader Sello Maphalla.
The LWP failed to win a single council in the poll.
“But note that according to the law, it should not be considered a by-election. It should be treated as though there was never an election there,” Maphalla said.
Likoti added that 27 electoral divisions were not contested because “only the LCD had fielded candidates”.
“We did not deliver ballots to those electoral divisions as there was no contest. There also won’t be a fresh election either because one party, the LCD, had fielded candidates,” Likoti said.
He added that there will be a fresh election in Semonkong Urban Council 05, Siloe 07, Sanqebetu 09 and Kueneng 05 because there were ties.
“There were ties in these electoral divisions between the ABC and LCD. There has to be fresh elections there,” Likoti said.
He said the IEC was still to meet and announce the dates for the new election.
