Maseru
Lesotho Tribune has been reliably informed that the Council of State will convene on Wednesday, 21 January 2026, to select three commissioners for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), a move that could finally bring an end to months of constitutional uncertainty that has left the country without a lawfully constituted electoral body.
Confirming the impending sitting, Lesotho’s Attorney General, Advocate Rapelang Motsieloa, told Lesotho Tribune: “Let’s just say there will be a Council of State meeting next Wednesday.” When pressed for further details, he declined to elaborate, adding pointedly: “Please don’t ask me the agenda.”
According to information available to this publication, the Council of State will consider a shortlist of five candidates submitted by political parties in line with national regulations. The nominees are:
• Dr John Maphephe
• Dr Fako Likoti
• Mr Retselisitsoe Mohale
• Mrs Mamatlere Matete
• Dr Monyane Chelete
The Council of State is expected to select three of the five to serve as IEC commissioners, a step widely regarded as critical to restoring electoral legitimacy and stabilising governance processes ahead of future political milestones.
The anticipated sitting follows a decisive High Court ruling in December 2025 that removed the final legal obstacle preventing the Council of State from acting. On 5 December 2025, the High Court, sitting as a Constitutional Panel comprising Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane, Justice Mathaba and Madam Justice Shale, dismissed in its entirety an application brought by Tumisang Mosotho and Tsikoane Peshoane. No order as to costs was made.
That application had effectively frozen the work of the Council of State and stalled the appointment of new IEC commissioners. Its dismissal cleared the way for the Council to resume its constitutional mandate.
However, the ruling also opened a more troubling legal question. The terms of office of the outgoing IEC commissioners expired on 1 December 2025, yet the Commission continued to perform official functions beyond that date. Legal analysts warn that this may have placed the IEC in an ultra vires position, with every decision taken since early December potentially vulnerable to legal challenge.
Such actions may include the regulation and management of political parties, procurement processes, deregistration matters and other statutory obligations. If challenged in court, experts caution that these decisions could be set aside, forcing a difficult institutional clean-up to restore the authority and credibility of the electoral body.
For several weeks, the Council of State cited the pending litigation as the basis for its inaction. With the court having found no merit in the application, that justification has now fallen away, increasing pressure on the Council to act without further delay.
The unfolding situation has taken place against a backdrop of mounting public and political tension around the IEC, which has faced criticism over delayed processes and internal governance challenges. The court’s dismissal has sharpened scrutiny on accountability, constitutional compliance and the risks posed by prolonged institutional drift.
The Registrar of the High Court, Makatiso Mapetja, formally issued the order confirming the dismissal, bringing legal clarity to a dispute that had paralysed one of the country’s most critical constitutional processes.
Following confirmation that the Council of State will sit on Wednesday, Lesotho Tribune spoke to BNP leader and Member of Parliament, Hon. Machesetsa Mofomobe, who had earlier led a constitutional push over the IEC vacuum.
“Our position was always about upholding the constitutional order and the rule of law,” Mofomobe said. “If they sit and appoint the commissioners, we will not go to court. BNP is against lawlessness and constitutional delinquents.”
All eyes now turn to the Council of State. Whether Wednesday’s sitting restores the IEC to constitutional footing or opens a new phase of legal and political contestation will shape not only the future of the Commission, but the credibility of Lesotho’s constitutional order itself.
