Africa-Press – Lesotho. SIX Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) MPs are allegedly backing Bokang Ramatšella’s High Court bid to have their party deregistered. Ramatšella told thepost yesterday that the MPs have deposed affidavits in support of his case in which he is asking the court to order the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to deregister the RFP from its books.
However, Ramatšella refused to name the MPs before his lawyer could include their affidavits in papers filed in the High Court. “I do not want to put them in danger,” Ramatšella said.
“I cannot expose them until the time is right.
” Ramatšella said he did not need too many people from the RFP to support his case.
He said even one or two people from the RFP would be enough to support his case in court. “I just wanted some proof to buttress my argument,” he said.
Ramatšella has already filed a case in the High Court asking the RFP to be de-registered from the IEC list. He argued that the RFP did not fulfil legal requirements for it to register with the IEC.
“The RFP members do not have proof of membership,” he said, adding that they do not have anything to support that they are members of the party.
“It is like they have gone to initiation school,” Ramatšella said.
For a person to be a member of a political party, the electoral law says that person should have paid a membership fee. So in the case of the RFP no one has paid the fee.
“I have spoken to some RFP MPs, they say they have never filled any membership forms,” Ramatšella.
He said they told him that they just loved RFP founder Sam Matekane. Legally, Ramatšella said members have to pay a membership fee and be given cards or receipts.
And in the case of the RFP this never happened. “This is going to have huge consequences on the 57 MPs of the RFP,” Ramatšella said. He said this means the country will have to hold by-elections because those in power are there by default.
Given the current scenario, there is no government, he said. Ramatšella said he has consulted with the National University of Lesotho (NUL) Political Science experts and those from the South African universities who told him that the outcome of his case is going to have massive consequences.
“The decision of the case might also change the electoral model we are using,” he said.
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