Qacha’s Nek
Democratic Congress (DC) leader, Pakalitha Mosisili, yesterday expressed hope his vote would help restore Lesotho’s stability and dignity which he said were eroded during the two-and-a-half years the coalition government was in power.
In an interview with the Sunday Express soon after casting his vote at Souru Primary School in Tsoelike constituency, Qacha’s Nek , Dr Mosisili said the All Basotho Convention (ABC), Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) and Basotho National Party (BNP) government had damaged Lesotho’s image since it came to power in June 2012.
Dr Mosisili, who was prime minister for 15 years until his party failed to win an outright majority in the 26 May 2012 general elections, resulting in the ABC, LCD and BNP alliance, insisted the new government which is to emerge from yesterday’s snap election, should ensure the country regains its peace and pride.
“I am happy to have exercised my right to vote today, and hopefully, this will help bring back Lesotho’s peace, stability as well as dignity in the eyes of the international community,” said Dr Mosisili, who was a DC candidate for Tsoelike in yesterday’s parliamentary elections.
“Like every other voter, I expect the government that will emerge from these elections to make peace and security a priority, and hopefully, that government will be a DC government.
“If there is no stability in any country, the economy cannot thrive and the people will suffer. And this is what happened to Basotho since the coalition government came to power in 2012, and the leaders started fighting among themselves, leading to instability and this early election.”
Dr Mosisili also said those who failed to vote yesterday had betrayed their fellow citizens, as well as the future generation.
“People fought and died for the independence of Lesotho, so those who decided against voting today not only betrayed these heroes but also their compatriots and the future generation because only through the ballot can you bring change to your country,” said Dr Mosisili.
On the other hand, some of the people who voted at Iketsetseng Polling Station, also in the Tsoelike constituency, told the Sunday Express that their area was one of the most under-developed despite having Dr Mosisili as their Member of Parliament since 1993.
The villagers lamented the constituency’s poor roads, lack of clean water, and the long distances they have to travel to access basic services such as purchasing electricity units.
“We have to travel for about two hours to reach town and buy simple things like electricity units, because our roads are so terrible. The disappointing thing is we have had Ntate Mosisili as our MP for a very long time but even when he was the prime minister, we did not see much development in this constituency. Hopefully, the next MP is going to remember us and prioritise addressing our plight because life is extremely difficult here,” said one of the villagers, who requested anonymity.
Another villager, ‘Makhabo Thuso, who is in her early 40s, said she hoped the next government would take community nurses seriously.
“I am a community nurse, and I work tirelessly to save lives here in the remote area. I look after people who can’t afford public transport charges to reach clinics and hospitals, but no one cares about our plight.
“We are only paid after five months and the money never increases from M300. Hopefully, the new government is going to review this amount because it is too little considering what we do, and the cost of living which is always going up,” Ms Thuso said.
However, Dr Mosisili said it was not true that he had neglected his constituency.
“I have brought development to most areas of this constituency and I hope to continue doing so should I be voted back to power in this election.”
Basotho went to the polls yesterday to choose members of the 9th National Assembly after the last parliament, which was voted into office in 2012, could not last its five-year term due to infighting between the coalition government leaders.