Regional bloc committed to peace process in post-election Lesotho: facilitator

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is committed to the peace process in Lesotho after the recent parliamentary elections, Cyril Ramaphosa, a SADC- appointed facilitator said here on Thursday.

"We will remain engaged and involved. SADC will seek to assist Lesotho in the next process," said Ramaphosa, South African Deputy President who has mediated the political crisis in Lesotho.

He called on political parties in the kingdom to have a dialogue as to what needs to be reformed.

Ramaphosa praised all the parties for having "participated in a respectful manner" in the elections which was a "true reflection of the will of people of Lesotho."

The opposition parties emerged as winner in the elections. On Wednesday, the Democratic Congress (DC), led by former Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, and the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), led by Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing, announced that they would form a coalition government with five other opposition parties.

Outgoing Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's All Basotho Convention (ABC) lost the elections after the allocation of seats. The ABC, however, equalled opposition on the number of constituencies.

Results showed that Mosisili's DC won 47 seats, followed by Thabane's ABC with 46, while Metsing's LCD won 12 seats.

As there is no clear poll winner, the DC and the LCD have signed an agreement to form a coalition with five other parties.

The coalition should have at least 61 seats in the 120-member Parliament.

In the coalition government, Mosisili will be the prime minister while Metsing will be his deputy.

The elections were held on Saturday, two years ahead of schedule under a political deal brokered by the SADC in a bid to end a political impasse that started in June last year when Thabane suspended Parliament to avoid a vote of no confidence that was being pushed by his coalition government partners. Endi