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Lesotho - Government

Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy, with the King as Head of State, the Prime Minister as Head of Government and a dual legal system – consisting of traditional customary law and the common Law. The legislative branch is bicameral with a 120-seat member Parliament and a 55-seat Senate of which 22 are permanently held by principal chiefs and 11 other senators who are appointed to represent the wider interests of society.

The judiciary, which is the arm of Government headed by a Chief Justice, consists of the Court of Appeal, as the highest court, the High Court, Magistrates’ Courts, and the local courts. There are concerns that the judiciary is slow in response and people generally lack confidence in the capacity of law enforcement agencies to investigate crimes, enforce the law and protect the Constitution. Although a commercial division of the High Court was established in 2001, it was short-lived. Commercial cases are, thus, heard in regular courts that are already bogged down with backlogs, an issue that is of grave concern to the business community.

While the country’s nascent democratic institutions are gradually evolving, its political stability and tolerance have been frequently tested. Although political stability has been achieved through the adoption of a relatively more inclusive electoral system as of 2003, strengthening the democratic institutions and culture remains a challenge to the country.

The current government is highly centralized in Maseru and nine other districts (Butha-Buthe, Leribe, TeyaTeyaneng, Mafeteng, Mohale’s Hoek, Quthing, Qacha’s Nek, Thaba-Tseka and Mokhotlong). The intention of the government is to further devolve power to local authorities/councils. The policy framework to facilitate implementation of local government is in place. The Local Government Act 1997 (amended in 2004) outlines the institutional framework for the envisaged local government system and the Local Government Elections Act 1998 (amended in 2004) provides the procedures, rules and regulations for the conduct of elections. Elections for the new local government structures took place in April 2005.

The drafting of the first constitution of Lesotho could be traced as far back as 1956, when the first Constitutional Reform Committee was formed to draft Constitutional proposal. It was this proposal that later gave birth to the then first independent Constitution of Lesotho which was presented before the Legislative Council in September 19, 1961. The Paramount Chief and Colonial government had earlier set up a Constitutional Commission to collect evidence from the people regarding the form the new Constitution should take. The terms of reference of the Commission were drawn by the then Executive Council.

The 1966 Constitution was suspended five years after independence in January 30, 1970 by Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan. Jonathan was deposed in 1986 and Lesotho was then governed by different military regimes without a Constitution until 1993. The Military government that deposed Jonathan argued that the suspended Constitution could not be reinstated but rather it needed to be amended. The military government was soon to announce the formation of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) to amend the Constitution.

Lesotho was able to reach a consensus among 14 Political Parties to establish the Interim Political Authority (IPA), as reflected in IPA Act 1998 Section 3 which introduced a new electoral system after highly contested and acrimonious election results of 1998. Key Lessons Learnt: The participatory character of IPA and its consultative nature brought about a purposeful reform program of the new electoral model.

The emergence of Coalition politics based on the 2012 electoral outcomes resulted in Hang-Parliament that severely challenged the political architecture of Lesotho. This meant that the election results could not be accommodated by the constitution and state institutions.

The post-2015 election Coalition Government signed a “Coalition Agreement for Stability and Reform”. In this agreement, the government commits to “establish mechanisms to review Lesotho’s Constitution to ensure that is it fit for purpose to enable peace, stability and good governance. The review process will include an examination of the protection of the principle of separation of powers and the safeguards necessary in statutory appointments for the Judiciary, the Independent Electoral Commission, the Ombudsman, Armed Forces, the Police and the Government Secretary and Principal Secretaries, and all other statutory positions”.

By 2016 wide ranging constitutional and governance reforms in Lesotho were intended to produce a new constitution that would address the linked challenges of consolidating democracy, attaining stability, managing coalition governance as a basis for attaining social cohesion, human security and sustainable development.

In particular, the events that preceded and subsequently led to the collapse of the first coalition government formed in 2012, resulting in the holding of new elections in February 2015 and formation of the second coalition government have highly polarized the nation. At the opening of Parliament on the 8th of May 2015, His Majesty the King made a Clarion call for an extensive constitutional review process. One of the core purposes of making a new Constitution is to shape the institutions of governance and to determine by whom and how power and authority of state should be exercise. The crafting of new Constitution, therefore, breathes life into the social and political architecture of the state and strengthens democratic governance. It is for this primary reason that all citizens have a sovereign right to take part in the process of constitution making. The people's involvement in this process is key because the constitution embodies a social contract that limits the use of power of a legitimately elected government to benefit the citizen in exchange for their allegiance and support. For this Constitution, it is proposed to complete the work before the next general elections that is scheduled for 2020. This means that the final date for the adoption of this Constitution will be 2019 or earlier. This recommendation is driven by the need to hold the next election in 2020 under the new Constitution.