US embassy cable - 05MASERU220

UNCLAS MASERU 000220 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, LT 
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION WILL NOT ENDORSE OR IMPEDE LOCAL ELECTIONS 
 
REF: MASERU 215 
 
1.  The major opposition political parties have been holding a 
series of meetings regarding the imminent local government 
elections. On April 28, forty-eight hours before the polling, 
the leaders of eleven opposition parties held a final press 
conference to state that they would not "bless"  these elections 
but also would not stand in the way of their supporters who wish 
to participate as candidates or voters.   This announcement 
removes the threat of a full-fledged boycott by the opposition. 
 
2. The eleven parties involved are:  Basotho National Party 
(BNP) (note: the biggest opposition party); Lesotho People's 
Congress (LPC); National Progressive Party (NPP); Basotholand 
African Congress (BAC); Lesotho Workers Party (LWP); Basotholand 
Congress Party (BCP); Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP);United 
Party (UP); Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National 
Democratic Party (NDP), United Democratic Party (UDP). 
 
3.  At the press conference, party leaders reiterated that their 
stance regarding the elections is as a result of the following 
claimed shortcomings and irregularities which, they said,  have 
not fully been addressed by the Independent Electoral Commission 
(IEC) and government: 
 
--  Absence of regulations needed to implement the Local 
Government Act of 1997 would lead to confusion and conflict 
between the local government structures and central government; 
 
--  IEC's demarcation of electoral divisions violates sections 
of the Local Elections Act and the Constitution which provide 
for equal and universal suffrage.   (In some cases, the number 
of voters varies greatly among nearby electoral divisions.); 
 
-- Reservation of one-third of the electoral divisions for women 
candidates is unconstitutional and discriminatory as it violates 
the right to participate in government regardless of gender, 
race or creed. (Note: An independent candidate had filed suit 
against the government on this issue;  but the case was 
dismissed by the High Court on Wednesday April 27. End Note.); 
 
-- Electoral model of first past the post is not suitable for 
Lesotho because lack of inclusiveness and the expense of 
replacing legislators; 
 
-- Inadequate and slow sensitization campaign, which has missed 
most of the electorate;. 
 
-- Outdated voters lists that contain discrepancies;. 
 
-- Alleged disenfranchisement of individuals who turned eighteen 
by January, 2005 and were not registered by the IEC: 
 
-- Lack of clarity for the role of chiefs in relation to the new 
local government structures; 
 
3.  The opposition parties also sought clarification on the 
credentials of the four-person Commonwealth Observer Group, 
which has arrived in Lesotho.  Note: it has since been verified 
that the views expressed by the group will be their own and not 
those of their respective governments, of the Commonwealth 
Secretariat or of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum 
 
SIPDIS 
(CLGF). End note. 
 
4. COMMENT.   The absence of a formal boycott should be a boost 
to voter participation.   The opposition's complaints were 
nothing new (Reftel).   On April 19, the parties had formally 
requested the government to delay the elections based on lack or 
adequate preparation and some of the "irregularities" described 
above.  The GOL rejected the opposition's arguments.  This 
response and the failure of the court case should remove any 
lingering doubts about whether the elections will take place on 
April 30.  At this point, there do not seem to be any 
significant security concerns regarding the voting, but the 
diplomatic and donor community, including post, will field 
observers and closely monitor election day activities. 
 
 
 
 
PERRY