Africa-Press – Lesotho. The newly adopted motion on the National Assembly Electoral Amendment Bill ,2025, a Bill to amend Section 47 to 51 of the Principal Law, is two-sided but will promote democracy as numbers count.
This was said by a former and long-time serving Member of Parliament (MP) Mr. Sello Maphalla in an interview with the Agency when commending on the above mentioned motion which was moved by MP Mootsi Lehata and seconded by MP Lebohang Hlaele which proposed that Section 41 to 51 of the Bill be replaced with the provisions that mandate the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to calculate and award the Proportional Representation (PR) seats to political parties considering the performance of candidates in their constituencies.
Mr. Maphalla said the motion discourages the past model whereby party members used to strive to be on top within party hierarchy especially during elections of the executive committee which often contributed towards party conflicts.
“It’s now every man for himself as numbers count regardless of a person’s status within the party” he stressed, acknowledging that traditionally, Basotho respects leadership.
Commenting on the motion in the National Assembly, the Leader of Opposition Mr. Mathibeli Mokhothu said he feared the new model would distort gender representation in the House as nobody would know the number of males and females in the constituencies and that there is no zebra model in the primaries, which are usually male dominated.
Meanwhile section 47 to 51 of the Principal Law provided for submission of party lists to IEC by political parties before the general elections for purposes of PR.
The amendment was made to ensure that candidates who have lost elections, but with high numbers in their respective constituencies, get compensated in terms of their performance, taking care of the zebra model and the law.
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