Freedom in the World 2001 - Lesotho

2001 Scores

Status: Partly Free
Freedom Rating: 4.0
Civil Liberties: 4
Political Rights: 4

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Lesotho received a downward trend arrow due to repeated manipulations and delays in creating conditions for holding general elections.

Overview

General elections that were to be held in April 2000 are unlikely to take place before March 2001 because of repeated infighting within the Interim Political Authority (IPA). The 24-member body, which was set up following postelection violence in September 1998 to oversee preparations for the polls, includes two representatives from each of the country's 12 main political parties. The South African Development Community (SADC), the United Nations, and the Commonwealth repeatedly have stepped in to mediate. An independent electoral commission that was created in 1999 resigned in January 2000, following pressure from opposition parties that questioned its impartiality. It resumed work after the addition of international experts.

Lesotho's status as a British protectorate saved it from incorporation into South Africa. King Moshoeshoe II reigned from independence in 1966 until the installation of his son as King Letsie III in a 1990 military coup. Democratic elections in 1993 did not lead to stability. After violent military infighting, assassinations, and a suspension of constitutional rule in 1994, King Letsie III abdicated to allow his father's reinstatement. He resumed the throne following the accidental death of his father in January 1996.

Troops from South Africa and Botswana were sent to the mountain kingdom at the request of Prime Minster Pakalitha Mosisili under the mandate of the 14-country SADC in September 1998 to quell army-backed violence and a potential overthrow of the government. The violence was touched off by the results of national assembly elections the previous May. Although international observers described the voting as free and fair, demonstrators rejected the results that gave the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) 79 of 80 national assembly seats. At least 100 people were reportedly killed before order was restored.

An agreement, drafted by the Commonwealth in 1998, allows the elected, but highly unpopular, government to retain power, but stipulates that new elections be supervised by an independent election commission. The agreement also calls for the formation of a security liaison committee with representatives of all political parties and the Lesotho army, as well as a joint committee on the public media to ensure equitable air time for campaigning.

Entirely surrounded by South Africa, Lesotho is highly dependent on its powerful neighbor. Its economy is sustained by remittances from its many citizens who work in South African mines. But a world slump in gold prices has led to job loss and decreased earnings. Some reports said that more than 10,000 Lesotho miners employed in South African gold mines lost their jobs in 2000.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

The people of Lesotho are guaranteed the right to change their leaders through free and fair elections, but mistrust and delays have marred the process. Legislative elections in May 1998 were determined to be generally free and fair, but the LCD's 60 percent vote translated into an almost total exclusion of opposition parties such as the Basotho National Party (BNP). The appearance of irregularities and the virtual elimination of opposition voices from government fueled protests against the results.

A new Mixed Member Parliament electoral model, which will expand the number of seats in parliament by 50, to 130, to give the opposition more representation, has been developed by the IPA. The additional seats will be elected by proportional representation, while the others will continue to be chosen by the "first past the post" system of awarding seats to whoever gets the most votes. In subsequent elections, the number of constituency seats and proportional representation seats is to be equal.

The senate, the upper house of the bicameral legislature, includes royal appointees and Lesotho's 22 principal traditional chiefs, who still wield considerable authority in rural areas. Any elected government's exercise of its constitutional authority remains limited by the autonomy of the military, the royal family, and traditional clan structures.

Courts are nominally independent, but higher courts are especially subject to outside influence. The large case backlog often leads to lengthy delays in trials. Freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion are generally respected. Mistreatment of civilians by security forces reportedly continues. Several nongovernmental organizations operate openly. In December, a court martial sentenced 33 members of the Lesotho Defense Force to prison terms of up to 13 years for mutiny during the 1998 unrest. Prison conditions are poor, but not life-threatening.

The government generally respects freedom of speech and the press, but journalists have suffered occasional harassment and attacks. There are several independent newspapers that routinely criticize the government. The press suffered badly during the 1998 rioting, when the offices of most independent publications were pillaged. All have resumed publishing. There are four private radio stations, and extensive South African radio and television broadcasts reach Lesotho.

The 1993 constitution bars gender-based discrimination, but customary practice and law still restrict women's rights in several areas, including property rights and inheritance. A woman is considered a legal minor while her husband is alive. Domestic violence is reportedly widespread. Women's rights organizations have highlighted the importance of women participating in the democratic process as part of a broader effort to educate women about their rights under customary and common law.

Labor rights are constitutionally guaranteed, but the labor and trade union movement is weak and fragmented. Approximately ten percent of the country's labor force, which is mostly engaged in subsistence agriculture or employment in South Africa, is unionized. Collective bargaining rights and the right to strike are recognized by law, but are sometimes denied by government negotiators. Security forces have violently suppressed some wildcat strikes. There were threats of violence against workers who failed to heed a strike call in May. The opposition BNP has called for strikes to press the government to agree to early elections.