SUMMARY
The Government of Lesotho was first established in October 1966 when Lesotho gained independence from Great Britain. The country became a constitutional monarchy under King Moshoeshoe II, with Chief Leabua Jonathan from the Basotho National Party (BNP), as prime minister.
The first general elections in Lesotho took place in early 1970. Even though the oppositional party Basotho Congress Party (BCP) gained the majority, Prime Minister Jonathan violently repressed the opposition and arrested its leaders after the elections, and consequently held on to power. In the following decades, Lesotho’s political arena was dominated by BNP’s one-party rule. This reign was only interrupted by a failed coup attempt in 1974 by the BCP, and again in 1986 when parts of the military, led by General Justin Lekhanya, successfully ousted Leabua Jonathan in a bloodless coup, thus instating military rule in Lesotho. Five years later, in April 1991, another coup took place resulting in the deposition of Lekhanya. This was eventually followed by peaceful multi-party elections in 1993 won by the BCP. In the following general election, in May 1998, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) gained governmental power and Pakalitha Mosisili became prime minister. However, the opposition parties contested the election results and in August 1998, the discontent grew into violent mass protests in the capital Maseru. As parts of the military forces defected in September, deadly violence and clashes between the Government of Lesotho and a Military faction took place. The Government requested support from the regional organization called the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and both South Africa and Botswana sent troops into Lesotho. The successful intervention was followed by the creation of an Interim Political Authority (IPA), upon the request of the SADC, which took over the governmental power in Lesotho. The IPA consisted of representatives from the largest political parties in the country, and carried through changes in the electoral system. The changes included a reconstruction of the lower house of parliament; changes that catered to the discontent after the latest general elections. In 2002, new elections was held; LCD gained the majority of seats in the parliament, and Mosisili became prime minister once again. As of 2018 Thomas Thabane was prime minister, representing the All Basotho Convention party (ABC), and Letsie III was the monarch of Lesotho.
The relationship and power balance between the prime minister, the monarch and the armed forces in Lesotho have on many occasions contributed to instability in the country. Even though the monarch constitutionally did not have any legislative or executive powers, the royal family has tried to change this several times. In the early days of Lesotho’s independence, King Moshoeshoe II tried to increase his executive powers, which caused him to be placed under house arrest in December 1966 at the orders of Prime Minister Jonathan. Within a month the King conceded and executive power was given to the prime minister. During 1970 and the chaotic situation that followed the elections, Leabua Jonathan once again put the King under house arrest to prevent the monarch from challenging him when holding on to power despite losing the election. Moshoeshoe II was subsequently forced into an eight-month exile in the Netherlands. During the following years, the governing BNP used the country’s police and armed forces to repress the opposition and to ensure their one-party rule. However, as the civilian government took greater control over the armed forces, disgruntlement began to grow within the ranks of the military, which ultimately led to the successful military coup in 1986. The military gave executive and legislative powers to the King, which appointed a council of ministers that were to help him with the general administration of the country. However, this arrangement did not last long, and in March 1990, the military regime exiled the King to the United Kingdom. As the disagreement between the two parts of the Lesotho government grew, Moshoeshoe II was dethroned and his son Letsie III became regent in November without any legislative or executive powers. By 1993, the military rule of Lesotho was ending and the armed forces were once again under civilian administration. Nevertheless, the military struggled to conform into its new role; several instances of mutinies among its ranks took place in the following years, including the violent conflict and coup attempt in 1998 mentioned earlier. In 1994, mutinying soldiers took a number of ministers from the government hostage during skirmishes in the capital. King Letsie III, with the support of the armed forces, dismissed the government and parliament in August 1994 and took over power, but soon handed back power to the prime minister after heavy domestic and international pressure, especially from South Africa and Zimbabwe. In the aftermath of this, Letsie III was deposed in early 1995 in favor of his father Moshoeshoe II, who died in a car accident in 1996, resulting in the reinstatement of Letsie III once again.
The armed forces of Lesotho, now known as the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF), has since 1990 consisted of around 2100 troops including the army and an air wing. One of the government’s most important security cooperation is with South Africa, which completely enclose Lesotho geographically. Large parts of Lesotho’s armed forces receives training in South Africa, and as mentioned earlier, the neighboring country, along with Botswana, also sent troops in aid of the Lesotho government during the 1998 armed conflict.
