General election in Lesotho 1985

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The parliamentary elections in Lesotho 1985 were scheduled for September 17 and 18, 1985 in the Kingdom of Lesotho . However, they were canceled as only the ruling Basotho National Party (BNP) put forward candidates. With this, all candidates became members of the National Assembly .

Starting position

The last elections in 1970 were canceled by the BNP government after it became clear that the opposition Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) had won the election. As a result, the BNP ruled with a hard hand under Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan . Numerous members of the opposition were killed or went into exile. A coup attempt by BCP politicians in 1974 failed. As a result, the Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA) was founded as the armed wing of part of the BCP. The government suspended the constitution, dissolved the National Assembly, and replaced it with the Interim National Assembly of appointed members. Jonathan felt, however, by the foreign donor countries, the activities of the LLA and wing struggles within the BNP, so that he scheduled the elections in July 1985.

The 60 parliamentarians were to be elected by majority voting. For opposition candidates, the rule was that they each had to deposit 1000 maloti (at that time about the annual salary of a primary school teacher), which they would have lost in the event of a defeat, and each had to show 500 names of supporters. Because of these high hurdles, the opposition decided not to nominate candidates.

procedure

On Nomination Day, which was held in August 1985 in each constituency for the official presentation of the candidates, only the BNP candidate took part.

Result

The 60 candidates of the BNP were officially confirmed as parliamentarians without a vote.

consequences

The election did not improve the political situation for the government. Part of the BNP, including the BNP Youth League, turned more and more to communist powers like North Korea . The apartheid government of South Africa increased the pressure on Lesotho. On January 1, 1986, the borders were largely sealed off so that Lesotho was isolated. Talks were held between the South African government and officers from the Lesotho Defense Force . On January 20, Major General Justin Metsing Lekhanya's military overthrew the government; the South African government lifted the blockade. Jonathan was placed under house arrest and died in April 1987.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lesotho: Authoritarian Rule, 1970-1991. EISA , accessed February 12, 2016
  2. ^ A b c Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , p. 95.
  3. ^ Election results at africanelections.tripod.com (English), accessed on February 11, 2014
  4. ^ Scott Rosenberg, Richard W. Weisfelder, Michelle Frisbie-Fulton: Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4871-9 , pp. 253-254.