Africa-Press – Lesotho. As the time for general elections draws near, more political parties want to throw their names into the proverbial hat to stand for elections. Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Chairperson Mphasa Mokhochane has revealed that about 30 political parties are waiting for the Commission certification in order to qualify for the contestation of what is about to be hotly contested upcoming general elections later in October. He said next week, the Commission will issue certificates to six recently registered political parties.
Currently, there are 53 registered parties with the Commission. These six parties will increase this number to 59 parties. In a political dispensation such as Lesotho, democracy is manifestly at play through pluralism, inclusive representation, and a multiparty system. Whereas some political parties are a result of splits, some are established when the elections are just around the corner. In 2021, three parties, the Basotho Action Party (BAP), Basotho Patriotic Party (BPP), and the Empowerment Movement for Basotho (EMB) splintered the majority ruling party All Basotho
Convention (ABC) following the fall out with some elements of the national executive committee (NEC). Meanwhile, IEC has indicated that the funding that it affords all the registered parties eligible to participate in the election is bound to decrease as they are now many. In 2017, 27 political parties contested elections and this figure has almost doubled and is likely to increase exponentially.
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