/ 11 November 2008

Lesotho’s former dictator says Parliament ‘illegitimate’

Lesotho’s former dictator, Major General Metsing Lekhanya, on Tuesday called the Parliament “illegitimate”, accusing the government of abusing the nation’s electoral system to claim extra seats.

The tiny, landlocked country uses a complex system to distribute seats and opposition parties have accused the government of manipulating the rules to win 21 extra MPs.

“I will say it again and again — this Parliament is illegitimate,” he told Agence France-Presse in an interview.

“The morale is very, very low in the national assembly, and that hampers healthy debate,” he said.

Lekhanya, who now heads the opposition Basotho National Party (BNP), says the mixed-member proportion model used to divide the seats in Parliament has been abused by the ruling party since the last elections in February 2007.

The 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) has tasked former Botswana president Ketumile Masire with helping find a solution, but he has so far failed to make headway.

The ruling party has agreed to accept a SADC team of experts to study the issue, but has refused to change the allocation of seats, saying the opposition should prepare for the next elections in 2012.

“The SADC and the Lesotho government need to consider very seriously the intervention of experts, because the mixed-member proportion model is being misused by the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy,” Lekhanya said.

Lekhanya headed a military junta here from 1986 to 1993, but now leads the BNP, which ruled the mountainous country following independence in 1966.

His party is one of the main opposition groups in Parliament, but Lekhanya has repeatedly questioned the validity of the elections last year. – AFP