LESOTHO: Bishops Commend Electoral Body for Organising Peaceful Elections

MASERU JUNE 13, 2017(CISA) – The Lesotho Catholic Bishop’s Conference (LCBC) together with the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) have commended the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for overseeing peaceful snap elections held on June 3.

In their report released June 12, titled, “2017 Kingdom of Lesotho National Assembly Elections Preliminary Report,” the bishops said the elections were well organised but only required some minor improvements.

“The IEC needs to be applauded for the excellent facilitation and adherence to all the requirements of the voting procedure. Overall, the elections were peaceful and well organised,” said the bishops in the statement.

“Though there is room to improve on some challenges identified. As Church we applaud this and that it must lead to a long lasting process of how Basotho people relate to each other,” said the bishops in the statement,” added the bishops.

They called upon the political elite and citizens in the country to embrace peace and reconciliation so that they preserve the heritage of the country and their values.

“As church, we recommend that there is real peace and reconciliation among the political elite in Lesotho, so that they preserve the heritage of the country. The Kingdom of Lesotho need deep soul searching as a nation with regards to peace, reconciliation and dialogue,” they said.

They bishops further urged the winning party to serve every citizen equally in disregard of who they voted for and challenged them to fast track reforms.

“It is not acceptable for a ruling party to be vengeful against citizens that would not have voted for them into power. Those who will form the government must ensure that quick reforms processes are rolled out,” they concluded.

Lesotho Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili called for snap election on March 1, 2017 after losing confidence vote in parliament.

The opposition party won most parliamentary seats and Mosisili conceded defeat.

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