The southern African kingdom of Lesotho is set to hold its first-ever local elections on Saturday but uncertainty over the role and powers of the new office bearers has taken the sheen off the polls.
Grassroots elections were first mooted in 1993 when the Basutoland Congress Party came to power after a series of military dictatorships during which local affairs were managed by village development councils, comprising local chiefs and officials nominated by the government.
A constitutional amendment last year revived the idea of local elections and also reserved a third of the total seats up for grabs in 129 local councils for women — falling in line with Southern African regional standards.
But there is no excitement surrounding what normally should have been landmark polls, because there are no guidelines as to the powers and role of the local representatives. No offices have been earmarked for them, nor will they have access to basic amenities such as telephones.
This has fuelled charges that the elections are a ploy by the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy to buttress its support base in remote rural areas.
”The ruling party only wants to extend its power base through these elections. That is why there are no regulations governing the implementation of local government councils,” said Francis Makoa, dean of the political science department at the National University of Lesotho.
”Absence of infrastructure and an implementation programme will have serious repercussions for these local government councils. There is bound to be conflict and confusion,” he said.
The local councils will be responsible for a raft of issues ranging from education, water and sanitation, land distribution, health, taxes, farming, culture, crime prevention and trade. But their powers have not been defined.
Another setback is the fact that several opposition parties have opposed the quotas for women and threatened to boycott the elections.
”We are worried about the way this empowerment is being implemented,” said Kelebone Maope, leader of the opposition Lesotho People’s Congress (LPC) and spokesperson for seven opposition parties.
Maope argued that quotas were illegal as they went against a constitutional clause prohibiting gender discrimination.
The move towards decentralisation is in stark contrast to nearby Swaziland, also a mountain kingdom ruled by Africa’s last absolute monarch, where political activity is banned and municipal elections can only be contested by individuals and not political parties.
Women activists in Lesotho have staged marches in support of the quotas but an unsuccessful bid by the opposition to have the polls deferred has led to some confusion about whether the elections will actually take place.
”I will not go and vote in a woman’s election. Actually when are these elections going to be held? This week or next week?” said an old man selling newspapers on the streets of the capital city of Maseru. – Sapa-AFP