King Letsie III is expected to dissolve parliament on Thursday next week ahead of the country’s 8th parliamentary elections. Speaking yesterday on the sidelines of a Lesotho Council of Non-Governmental Organisations seminar held to discuss the country’s preparedness for the polls, the Independent Electoral Commission spokesperson, Mrs ‘Mamatlere Matete told Public Eye the 7th parliament is supposed to be officially closed on March 15, in line with the country’s constitution. “The term of the current parliament ends on the 15th of March 2012, as it began its tenure on March 15 2007. Therefore, we expect the King to dissolve the parliament as indicated in the country’s constitution. “Again, in line with Lesotho’s constitution, we should host elections within 90 days of the dissolution of parliament, and this is what we are expecting to happen,” said Matete.
Asked if the IEC was ready to host the elections within the next three months, Matete said: “Absolutely. May would suit us fine, because we would like to avoid the harsh winter that the country normally goes through in June and July. “In April, we will be having the final list of candidates who will be contesting the elections in the different constituencies of the country.
“The process of removing the deceased from the voters’ roll has already begun, after we intensified the registration of voters in January this year by recruiting 600 new staff members. In fact, as we speak, we already have a timetable for the elections.” According to Matete, 15 political parties had already met the IEC requirements for contesting the polls, while 15 more were yet to finalise their registration.
Full Article: ‘Parliament to be dissolved on March15’ | Public Eye Daily.
