MASERU — The ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) party romped home to victory in 10 of the 18 local council elections held last weekend.
The councils are those where voting did not take place or failed to produce winners during the local council election held on October 1.
Voting failed to take place in some of the councils due to late delivery of voting materials or death of candidates.
In other councils, elections failed to produce a clear winner after candidates received the same number of votes.
The 10 councils that the LCD pocketed include Mohale’s Hoek Urban Council, Quthing Urban Council, Senekane Community Council, Siloe Community Council and Matsoku Community Council.
Lesotho’s main opposition All Basotho Convention (ABC) party only managed to win two, the Semonkong Urban Council in Maseru and Kueneng Community Council in Berea.
The opposition Lesotho People’s Congress (LPC) which had fielded candidates in five councils won the Maputsoe Urban Council.
The party garnered 85 votes to the LCD’s 32 while the ABC got 71 votes.
The LPC failed to win any council in the October 1 elections.
Four independent candidates also won during the weekend poll.
Mohapi Elias Ntlele won the Tenesolo Community Council 112 by 68 votes, while ‘Mampho Kao won the Sanqebetu Community Council J0309 by 86 votes.
Tabola Nkololeko won the Senqunyane Community Council by 158 votes while Maja Maja won the Khutlo-se-Metsi Community Council in Thaba-Tseka by 71 votes.
However, it was still not clear by yesterday which party had won the Mokhotlong Urban Council as the IEC had not yet officially released the result.
IEC media liaison officer, Rethabile Phoolo, said the electoral commission could not provide an absolute result for the Mokhotlong Urban Council “due to a mix-up of names”.
“We cannot provide an absolute result for the Mokhotlong Urban Council because there was a mix-up of names. The IT people are still working on it. You will know in due course,” Phoolo said.
The LCD had previously won 69 of the 77 contested councils during the October 1 local poll, a victory which suggested that it is still the party of choice for thousands of Basotho voters countrywide, despite the bitter infighting rocking the party.
Twenty-seven electoral divisions were not contested in the poll because only the LCD had fielded candidates.
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