# 2022 Lesotho general election

General elections were held in Lesotho on 7 October 2022 to elect all 120 members of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament.

## Background

The previous general elections in 2017 were called after prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili lost a vote of no confidence. In the election, the All Basotho Convention (ABC), led by Tom Thabane, won 48 seats. The Democratic Congress (DC) led by Mosisili won 30 seats, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy party (LCD) secured 11 seats whilst numerous minor parties won 27. The ABC won three additional seats; however, the results of those constituencies were declared null and void due to the deaths of some candidates contesting those seats. Following the election, the ABC announced its intention to form coalition government with the Reformed Congress of Lesotho, the Alliance of Democrats and the Basotho National Party. The new government was sworn in on 16 June and Thabane assumed office as prime minister.
Thabane's estranged wife, Lipolelo, was murdered shortly before his inauguration. In 2020, Thabane began to face pressure to step down due to his alleged role in Lipolelo's murder. The coalition government subsequently collapsed after ABC's alliance partners withdrew their support. Thabane resigned from the premiership in May, and finance minister Moeketsi Majoro succeeded him. The ABC then formed another government with the Basotho National Party. Thabane later resigned as leader of the ABC, and in February 2022, the party elected Nkaku Kabi to succeed him.
Majoro did not contest the ABC primaries, while several ABC ministers lost their nominations.

## Electoral system

The 120 members of the National Assembly were elected using a mixed single vote with seat linkage system for mixed-member proportional representation. Eighty members were elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting, with the remaining 40 elected from a single nationwide constituency as leveling seats, which were allocated to make seat totals reflect the national vote share. Any party winning more seats in the single-member constituencies than their national vote share entitles them to will not be awarded more seats.

## Conduct

Polling stations opened at 07:00. Delegations from the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the Commonwealth of Nations and the European Union were present to observe the elections.
Voting concluded at 17:00. Whilst there were no reports of significant upheavals to the electoral process, polling stations turned away several individuals whose names were not present on the electoral roll. Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) director, Mpaiphele Maqutu, said turnout was higher than in previous elections. However, the IEC did acknowledge that participation in some rural regions was low, with a lighter voter presence in places such as Thaba-Tseka.

## Opinion polls

| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample | ABC | DC | LCD | AD | MEC | BNP | PFD | NIP | RCL | BCP | MFP | SR | BBDP | BAP | RFP | Others | Lead |
| 2022 election | 7 Oct 2022 | 581,692 | 7.1 | 24.7 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | — | — | — | 2.1 | — | 5.4 | 38.9 | 5.9 | 14.2 |
| Afrobarometer/Advision | Feb–Mar 2022 | 1,200 | 21 | 42 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | 8 | — | 2 | 21 |
| Afrobarometer/Advision | 23 Feb–11 Mar 2020 | 1,200 | 18.7 | 42.3 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 10.9 | 6.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 0.2 | — | — | 0.9 | 23.6 |
| 2017 election | 3 Jun 2017 | 581,692 | 40.5 | 25.8 | 9.0 | 7.3 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 | — | — | — | — | 3.0 | 14.7 |

## Results

The elections were postponed in the Stadium Area constituency following the death of the Basotholand Total Liberation Congress candidate.
The ruling All Basotho Convention lost all its constituency seats, including that of party leader Nkaku Kabi. Although the Democratic Congress party ran its campaign opposing the ABC, the party's recent support for the coalition government allowed the new Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party to seem more credible as a new start.
2163295145781111 :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Seats | Seats | Seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | FPTP | List | Total | +/– |
| | Revolution for Prosperity | 201,478 | 38.89 | 57 | 0 | 57 | New |
| | Democratic Congress | 128,517 | 24.81 | 18 | 11 | 29 | –1 |
| | All Basotho Convention | 37,809 | 7.30 | 0 | 8 | 8 | –40 |
| | Basotho Action Party | 29,285 | 5.65 | 0 | 6 | 6 | New |
| | Alliance of Democrats | 20,843 | 4.02 | 2 | 3 | 5 | –4 |
| | Movement for Economic Change | 17,281 | 3.34 | 1 | 3 | 4 | –2 |
| | Lesotho Congress for Democracy | 12,326 | 2.38 | 0 | 3 | 3 | –8 |
| | Socialist Revolutionaries | 10,738 | 2.07 | 1 | 1 | 2 | New |
| | Basotho National Party | 7,367 | 1.42 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –4 |
| | Popular Front for Democracy | 4,655 | 0.90 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –2 |
| | Mpulule Political Summit | 4,485 | 0.87 | 0 | 1 | 1 | New |
| | Basotho Covenant Movement | 4,117 | 0.79 | 0 | 1 | 1 | New |
| | HOPE – Mphatlalatsane | 3,717 | 0.72 | 0 | 1 | 1 | New |
| | National Independent Party | 3,704 | 0.71 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | Basotho Patriotic Party | 3,201 | 0.62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | United for Change | 2,940 | 0.57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Lesotho People's Congress | 2,075 | 0.40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Alliance for Free Movement | 2,002 | 0.39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Basutoland Congress Party | 1,911 | 0.37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 |
| | Reformed Congress of Lesotho | 1,809 | 0.35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 |
| | Marematlou Freedom Party | 1,767 | 0.34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | –1 |
| | Basotho Liberation Movement | 1,530 | 0.30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Basotho Democratic Congress | 1,167 | 0.23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Basotho Democratic National Party | 1,165 | 0.22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Lesotho Economic Freedom | 1,153 | 0.22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Basotho Economic Enrichment | 1,076 | 0.21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Basotho Total Liberation Congress | 888 | 0.17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Khothalang Basotho | 828 | 0.16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | African Unity Movement | 750 | 0.14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Your Opportunity and Network Alliance | 719 | 0.14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Lekhotla la Mekhoa le Meetlo | 579 | 0.11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Basotho Social Party | 557 | 0.11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Metsi and Natural Resources Party | 533 | 0.10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Basotho Poverty Solution Party | 472 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Bahlabani ba Tokoloho Movement | 468 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Development Party for All | 469 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Basutholand African National Congress | 446 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Revolutionary Alliance of Democracy | 432 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Tsepo Ea Basotho | 423 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | African Ark | 344 | 0.07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Basotho Council for Economic Freedom | 302 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Basotho Redevelopment Party | 288 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Empowerment Movement for Basotho | 282 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Mookoli Theological Front | 264 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Yearn for Economic Sustainability | 231 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | People's Convention | 225 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Allies for Patriotic Change | 195 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Prayer Shawl and Light | 118 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Independents | 123 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 518,054 | 100.00 | 80 | 40 | 120 | 0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 518,054 | 98.74 | | | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 6,594 | 1.26 | | | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 524,648 | 100.00 | | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 1,388,117 | 37.80 | | | | |
| Source: IEC ||||||||

## Aftermath

On 11 October Revolution for Prosperity leader Sam Matekane announced that his party had reached a coalition agreement with the Alliance of Democrats and the Movement for Economic Change. Matekane will lead the government as Prime Minister.
PM Majoro submitted his formal resignation to the King on 14 October; the King accepted, and asked Majoro to remain until the new PM was inaugurated. This occurred on 28 October after the new parliament was sworn in.