Democratic Congress | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Mathibeli Mokhothu |
| Founder | Pakalitha Mosisili |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Split from | Lesotho Congress for Democracy |
| Ideology | Pan-Africanism Social democracy |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| Colors | Red, Green, Black |
| Slogan | Nete Ke Thebe, Sechaba ke Poho! |
| National Assembly | 30 / 120 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Democratic Congress is a political party in Lesotho that split from the Lesotho Congress for Democracy. It is led by Mathibeli Mokhothu.
Before the 2012 election, the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy split, with Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili leaving the party. [1] He then founded the Democratic Congress, initially incorporating the name of LCD founder Ntsu Mokhehle in the name of the party. The LCD Secretary-General Mothetjoa Metsing then moved to lead the LCD. [2]
In its first election the party won a plurality of seats, [3] but failed to get a majority after the allotment of proportional seats. They attempted to form a coalition government but failed.
| Election | Votes | Share | Seats | +/- | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 218,366 | 39.58 | 48 / 120 |  48 | Opposition |
| 2015 | 218,573 | 38.37 | 47 / 120 |  1 | Government |
| 2017 | 150,172 | 25.82 | 30 / 120 | 17 | Opposition |
| 2022 | 24.7 | 29 / 120 | 1 | Opposition | |
In December 2016, Monyane Moleleki, then deputy leader of the Democratic Congress, unveiled a new political party he had formed following his and some members of DC's national executive committee's attempts at ousting Mosisili from the DC. [4]
The history of people living in the area now known as Lesotho goes back as many as 400 years. The present Lesotho emerged as a single polity under King Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Under Moshoeshoe I, Basotho joined other clans in their struggle against the Lifaqane associated with famine and the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828.
Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili is a former Mosotho politician who was the fourth prime minister of Lesotho from May 1998 to June 2012 and again from March 2015 to June 2017. He led the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) to a near-total victory in the 1998 election, and under his leadership the party also won majorities in the 2002 and 2007 elections. While serving as Prime Minister, Mosisili was also Minister of Defence.
The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) is a political party in Lesotho.
Thomas Motsoahae Thabane is a Mosotho politician who was the fifth prime minister of Lesotho from 2012 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2020. He founded the All Basotho Convention (ABC) in 2006 and led the party until 2022.
Monyane Moleleki is a Lesotho politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Lesotho, as well as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, from 2017 to 2020. As a leading figure in the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), Moleleki was Minister of Natural Resources from 1993 to 1994, Minister of Information from 1996 to 1998, Minister of Natural Resources from 1998 to 2004, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2007, and Minister of Natural Resources from 2007 to 2012. After breaking with the LCD, Moleleki served as Deputy Leader of the Democratic Congress and was Minister of Police from 2015 to 2016. He left the Democratic Congress and launched a new party, the Alliance of Democrats, in 2017.
The Lesotho People's Congress is a political party in Lesotho. It was formed as a split from the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) by that party's Lesiba faction after Deputy Prime Minister Kelebone Maope resigned from the government in September 2001, and it was registered on October 8, 2001. Maope became the leader of the LPC; another leading member of the LCD, Shakhane Mokhehle, also became a leading member of the LPC. It gained 27 seats in the National Assembly through defections from the LCD. The new party closely identified itself with former prime minister Ntsu Mokhehle, the founder of the LCD, and used an image of his head as its party symbol. The LCD sought to prevent the LPC from using his head as its symbol, but on December 6 the High Court ruled in favor of the LPC. In the parliamentary election for the National Assembly held on 25 May 2002, the party won 5.8% of popular votes and 5 out of 120 seats. Maope was the only LPC candidate to win a constituency, but the party won four other seats through proportional representation. Maope and Shakhane Mokhehle did not include themselves on the party's list of candidates for proportional representation, expecting to win constituencies, but Mokhehle lost his constituency by nine votes, and therefore did not get a seat in the National Assembly.
Clement Ntsu Sejabanana Mokhehle was a Lesotho politician. He served as the third prime minister of Lesotho from 2 April 1993 to 17 August 1994 and from 14 September 1994 to 29 May 1998.
Ntlhoi Motsamai is a Lesotho politician who has been the Speaker of the National Assembly twice; first, from 1999 to 2012, then from March 2015 to June 2017. Motsamai worked as a teacher before entering politics.
General elections were held in Lesotho on 17 February 2007. They had originally been scheduled to be held in April or May 2007. In October 2006, Tom Thabane left the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) and formed a new party, the All Basotho Convention (ABC), and 17 other members of parliament joined him. This left the LCD with a narrow majority of 61 out of 120 seats. On the advice of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, King Letsie III dissolved parliament on November 24, 2006, and the election was scheduled for February 17, 2007. The bringing forward of the date caused dissatisfaction amongst the opposition, which expressed concern that it would not allow sufficient time for campaigning and electoral preparations. It was believed that the election was called early due to the possibility that there would be further defections from the LCD, depriving it of its majority.
The All Basotho Convention is a political party in Lesotho. The party was formed in October 2006 and founded by Tom Thabane, a former minister in the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) led by the government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili. Nkaku Kabi has led the party since February 2022.
Pontso S. M. Sekatle is a politician and academic in Lesotho. Sekatle lectured at the National University of Lesotho from 1984 to 2001. In June 2001, she was appointed to the Senate of Lesotho, and on July 6, 2001 she became Minister of Health and Social Welfare. She was a member of the Qacha's Nek constituency for third time with the win in the elections in 2012 and was appointed the Minister of Local government and Chieftainship Affairs.
General elections were held in Lesotho on 26 May 2012. The incumbent Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili's newly formed Democratic Congress won a majority of single-member seats. He also won his seat by the second-largest margin of victory. However, they only had a plurality in the overall tally and coalition talks are taking place.
General elections were held in Lesotho on 28 February 2015 for all 120 seats of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Lesotho, more than two years ahead of schedule due to the 2014 political crisis. Following mediation facilitated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), King Letsie III on the advice of the incumbent Prime Minister Tom Thabane, dissolved the Eighth Parliament and called a snap election.
Mothetjoa Metsing is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Lesotho. He is a member and current leader of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). He served in the government of Prime Minister Tom Thabane between 2012 and 2015. In 2014, he was involved in controversy over an alleged coup attempt against the prime minister that was eventually resolved over calls for an early election.
Early general elections were held in Lesotho on 3 June 2017 to elect all 120 seats of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament. The elections were called more than three years ahead of schedule due to a successful vote of no confidence against the incumbent Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.
The Alliance of Democrats (AD) is a political party in Lesotho.
The Movement for Economic Change (MEC) is a political party in Lesotho.
Mathibeli Edwin Mokhothu is a Mosotho educator and politician who has served as the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, as well as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, since 2020. A member of the Democratic Congress, he is the party's leader and previous deputy leader. He was formerly the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly before the party formed part of a coalition with the All Basotho Convention in May 2020. From 2015 to 2017, he served as the Minister of Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation. Mokhothu is the MP for the Qhoali No. 68 constituency.
Mathabiso Angeline Lepono is a Mosotho politician. She was a longtime minister of gender, youth, and sports under Lesotho's prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili.
General elections were held in Lesotho on 7 October 2022 to elect all 120 members of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Lesotho.
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