MASERU — Butha-Buthe businessman, Thabang Kholumo, was last weekend elected the vice-president of the opposition Popular Front for Democracy (PFD) party.
Kholumo was elected to the post unopposed at a three-day bi-annual conference that ended last Sunday.
Kholumo is a former deputy president of the Lesotho Teachers Trade Unions (LTTU).
PFD president, Lekhetho Rakuoane, retained his post unopposed while the party’s chairperson, Mamoshe Mosena, also retained her position.
Mokone Mokone was elected the deputy chairman of the party while Tsokolo Saoana was retained as the party’s secretary-general unopposed.
Nts’epase Mahao was also elected unopposed as the party’s deputy secretary general.
Rakuoane told the Lesotho Times yesterday that the PFD had resolved at the conference to push the government to allocate more funds to community councils.
Rakuoane said the party wanted the government to allocate more resources to community councils to make services accessible to rural communities.
He said his party will step up preparations for local government elections to be held next year.
Rakuoane said the PFD wanted the Minister of Local Government Ponts’o Sekatle to release plans for the local government elections.
“The PFD is of the view that the delay in announcing plans and preparations for the local government elections will hamper the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in its voter education campaigns,” the party said in a statement after the conference.
The PFD was established in 1991.
It won 900 votes in the 1993 general elections but failed to win any seat in parliament.
In 1998 the party garnered 3 500 votes but also failed to win a seat in parliament.
In the last general election held in 2007, the PFD won 15 500 votes, securing a single compensatory seat in the National Assembly.
Political analysts say the party has failed to make any impact on Lesotho’s political scene.
