Electoral Geography and Community: Whither Coalition Governments in Lesotho?

Vusi Mashinini

doi:10.47631/mejress.v1i2.83

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this research study is to address the nature, prospects and challenges of coalition governments and their impacts on the community in Lesotho Approach/Methodology/Design: This paper uses desk top methodology and employs a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis technique to address the nature, prospects and challenges of coalition governments and their impacts on the community in Lesotho. Research questions that guide this study are what prompt coalition governments in Lesotho? How do coalition governments operate in Lesotho? What are the prospects and challenges of coalition governments on the government, governance, lives and livelihoods of the communities in Lesotho? What might be a sustainable democratic coalition government option in Lesotho going forward? Findings: The hypothesis of the paper is that coalition governments promote instability of government and poor governance for the Basotho. The results show that prospects for coalition governments are inclusive democracy, while challenges are community exclusion, poor service delivery, extravagant public expenditure and government instability. Practical Implications: The article provides a detailed analysis of the impact of coalition governments on the community. Originality/value: The major findings and conclusion of the paper is that coalition governments have prompted cooperation among former rival parties to form one coalition government at different times; but they have had a negative impact on the Basotho community as a whole and benefited only a minority aligned to some of the major coalition parties under different coalition regimes.

Highlights

Since 2012 Lesotho has been embattled in the struggle to institute sustainable political, social and economic stability for Basotho under different coalition governments without much success
The snap election of 28 February, 2015 meant to produce a successor government resulted in a hung government too in which the parliamentary seats were as follows: Democratic Congress (DC) had 47; All Basotho Convention (ABC) had 46: Popular Front for Democracy (PFD) had 2; Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) had 12; Basotho National Party (BNP) had 7; National Independence Party (NIP) had 1; Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP) was 1; Basotho Congress Party (BCP) was 1; Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL) had 2
The ABC which had most, 49 seats formed a coalition government with the Alliance of Democrats, a new part formed by the breakaway faction from the DC that lead to the fall of the seven party coalition 3 months earlier with 9 seats; the BNP with 5 seats; and the Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL) which is a new party of breakaway people from the LCD with 1 seat

Summary

Introduction

While the electoral law allows parties to make these coalitions if necessary, they have been faced with insurmountable challenges in terms of their participatory democratic basis emanating from the Basotho community and the coalition parties cooperation themselves that has seen them fail to last for the five year normal constitutional government tenure and collapse within around two years instead This has resulted in Lesotho going for elections 3 times in a time frame of about five years which should have been the tenure of only one government since 2012 - 2017 with high political, social and economic consequences and impacts on Basotho.

Coalition Governments and Communities in Africa: A Conceptual Overview

Lesotho’s Electoral Model: A Descriptive Overview

4.1: Coalition Governments in Lesotho: A Temporal Overview

Coalition Governments in Lesotho: A SWOT Analysis

Findings

Conclusion and Suggestion