Statement by Commonwealth Special Envoy to Lesotho

Thank you for your attendance this morning at the release of “Working Towards a Sustainable Democracy: Some Guidelines for a Robust Election Process”.

Let me first trace the background to the development of these guidelines.

As many of you are aware, the Commonwealth has been engaged in Lesotho continuously since the 2012 elections. After our initial involvement in the election monitoring process we were asked by the current Government to undertake a scoping exercise on coalition governance in Lesotho. In the process of completing this work, we undertook extensive consultations with members of parliament, political parties, the public service, and civil society – including the church leaders. There was widespread acceptance that this report had captured local concerns and aspirations and that its recommendations should be advanced.

Consequently, the next recommended step implemented by the Government was a Commonwealth organized study tour to New Zealand by a group led by Deputy Prime Minister Metsing, including other parliamentarians, senior public servants, officials of parliament, political party representatives, and the clergy. The delegation examined New Zealand’s MMP system, its governance arrangements and its independent public service. The UNDP also provided some support for the visit to New Zealand.

The visit resulted in the report “Governance in Lesotho: Repositioning for Success”. This report did two things. It developed the architecture for reform of effective governance in Lesotho comprising (i) an effective parliament, (ii) an independent public service, (iii) a robust process for forming and sustaining successful coalitions, and (iv) constitutional clarity around the transition period when the Government assumes a caretaker role after an election is called, and other constitutional changes to make it consistent with an MMP system. 

This reform architecture received broad acceptance in Lesotho from all parties in Government and Opposition, the public service, civil society and the general public. The reform architecture also reflected the Commonwealth’s core value of “just and honest governance”. This programme of reform was overtaken by the events of the past few months and now sit as matters for the new government to contemplate.

One of the major recommendations of the “Repositioning for Success” report was that the Government consider asking the Council of State to commission the preparation of a handbook on the nature of coalition governments and the process of coalition formation. In discussions with the Government, political parties, civil society and others, I was requested in my role as Special Envoy, to consider developing a guidelines document which may be of benefit to political stakeholders as they prepared for the upcoming elections and readied themselves to negotiate a coalition agreement. It is on this basis that these guidelines have been developed.

Thus, the guidelines are designed to assist all key players to participate in a robust election process and then to form a government that reflects the wishes of the people and which carries out the mandate on which it was elected. It has relevance for a range of people and institutions including the voting public, civil society, candidates, political parties, the churches and the media.

The guidelines traverse four stages that comprise the context of elections and coalition formation. Political parties are in focus at three of these stages as they prepare for elections, contest the election campaign and then enter into coalition formation. One stage belongs exclusively to the voters as they consider casting their ballots in the upcoming elections. 

The guidelines provide pertinent issues for consideration at each stage. As voters and political parties address these issues, they effectively mature the democratic process in Lesotho and should contribute to stability and resilience.

The coalition negotiation and government formation stage is complex and requires discipline. The guidelines identify those issues that need to be considered. The constitution only allows 14 days to complete the government formation process. This puts a lot of demands on negotiators to bring the agreements to a conclusion. Parties will be better prepared for the negotiation stage, if they now started to identify the policies and other matters they want to discuss, and be more familiar with the process they will undergo. By doing so, parties will have a better chance of completing a successful agreement in the 14 days allowed.

These guidelines are by no means exhaustive. They are meant to heighten awareness and discussion amongst political parties, political candidates, and among all Basotho citizens about effective coalition governance as the country readies itself for elections. No doubt political parties, individual candidates, civil society, the media and other stakeholders will add other dimensions that should be considered. 

A sustainable democracy earns the respect of its citizens and the international community. I hope these guidelines help in that process. 

Background information to publication of the guidelines