Country

Lesotho

Democracy

0.03%

of the world’s population

2,389,340 people

Source: Tyranny Tracker

Overview

HRF classifies Lesotho as democratic.

Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy, with a King serving as Head of State and an elected Prime Minister acting as Head of Government. Current Prime Minister Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane was democratically elected as an opposition challenger in the 2022 general election. Lesotho experienced two consecutive, competitive, free, and fair elections before it gained independence from Britain in 1966, but a 1970 coup heralded nearly a quarter of a century of authoritarian rule amid political instability marked by a civil war, an insurrection, and three additional coups by both civilian and military leaders.

Key Highlights

National elections in Lesotho are largely free and fair. Since competitive, multi-party elections inclusive of the real, mainstream opposition resumed in Lesotho in 1993 after a 23-year hiatus, five different parties have rotated in power: the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP), Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), All Basotho Convention (ABC), the Democratic Congress (DC), and the incumbent Revolution for Prosperity (RFP).

Independent media, civil society leaders, and members of the general public are seriously and unfairly hindered in their ability to openly criticize or challenge the government, facing retaliation. Independent journalists frequently face harassment, including death threats and murders.

Institutions are largely independent and serve as effective checks on the government, consistently restraining attempts to repress criticism, undermine electoral competition, or weaken accountability mechanisms. However, courts fail to hold security forces accountable for human rights abuses by the Armed Forces and Police.

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