U S State Department

LESOTHO 2016 HUMAN RIGHTS Report U S State Department

Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy with a democratic parliamentary government. Under the constitution, the king is head of state but does not actively participate in political activities. The prime minister is head of government and has executive authority. All major parties accepted the outcome of the February 2015 peaceful, credible, and transparent elections, and the country established its second coalition government. A Southern African Development Community (SADC) facilitation mission negotiated the snap election following clashes in August 2014 that saw then prime minister Thomas Thabane flee the country. The 2015 parliamentary elections gave no political party a majority. Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili, the leader of the Democratic Congress (DC), which won 47 seats in the 120-member parliament, formed a seven-party, 65-seat coalition government. Despite the close election and tense environment, Thabane transferred power peacefully to Mosisili and assumed leadership of the opposition. Thabane and two other opposition leaders fled the country again in May 2015, citing concerns about their safety, and had not returned by year's end. An opposition boycott of parliament ended in February.