Staff Reporters
The IEC has triggered a political firestorm after abruptly deregistering four political parties right in the middle of the recruitment of new commissioners. The decision has been condemned across the opposition, with many describing it as a calculated move that threatens the integrity of the entire electoral process.
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The deregistered parties are Tjako Peli Movement Front, Basotho Democratic National Party, Basutoland Democratic Congress and Bahlabani ba Tokoloho Movement. The IEC made the announcement this week without providing any detailed explanation or publicised minutes of the commission’s sitting.
Basotho National Party leader, Hon. Machesetsa Mofomobe, told Lesotho Tribune that the move is being viewed as direct interference in the recruitment of commissioners. He said political parties will not ignore what looks like an attempt to tilt the process. He added that IEC is a product of political parties and not a personal playground for individuals who believe they can manipulate it for short term gains.
When Lesotho Tribune asked the IEC to clarify the legality and timing of the deregistrations, the commission refused to respond electronically and instead ordered the publication to physically visit its offices for answers. The response was seen as dismissive and evasive.
Unanswered Questions That Cut to the Heart of the Law
According to the National Assembly Electoral Act 2011, parties can only be deregistered for failure to comply with very specific requirements. These include maintaining updated membership lists, holding prescribed internal meetings and filing mandatory documents. The Act also allows the IEC to impose other sanctions instead of outright deregistration. The Commission must also act within the principles of administrative justice, fairness and equality as set out in Section 19 of the Constitution.
The IEC is now under pressure to explain:
1. When exactly the Commission sat to make this decision and whether the outgoing commissioners were part of the meeting.
2. Which clauses of the Electoral Act each party violated and why deregistration was chosen over other available sanctions.
3. Why RFP has not faced similar consequences despite failing to hold elective and annual conferences since 2022.
4. Why the IEC waited until the precise moment when new commissioners are being recruited to strike off parties that had already nominated candidates to the recruitment panel.
5. Whether this move undermines the recruitment process by excluding voices that are supposed to participate in selecting the new oversight leadership.
Section 2 of the Electoral Act requires that the IEC administer elections in a manner that is impartial and transparent. Critics now argue that the timing alone fails this basic test. Any decision that appears to advantage or disadvantage political actors during a sensitive transition period risks violating the spirit of the Act and the Constitution.
Growing Fears for the Integrity of the Commission
This incident has renewed a long standing concern that the IEC is drifting away from its constitutional mandate. By refusing to provide immediate and accessible answers, by acting during the most delicate phase of commissioner recruitment and by applying sanctions unevenly across the political spectrum, the Commission has opened itself to allegations of political manipulation.
If the IEC cannot justify the legality, timing and fairness of these decisions, the entire recruitment process may be tainted. And once confidence in the electoral body collapses, it becomes nearly impossible to restore public trust before the next national vote.
