Lesotho general election, 2017

Lesotho general election, 2017

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All 120 seats in the National Assembly 61 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Tom Thabane Pakalitha Mosisili Mothetjoa Metsing Party ABC DC LCD Last election 37.8%, 46 seats 38.4%, 47 seats 9.9%, 12 seats Seats won 48 30 11 Seat change 2 17 1 Popular vote 235,729 150,172 52,052 Percentage 40.52% 25.82% 8.95%
The left side shows constituency winners of the election by the winning party vote strength. The right side shows regional winners of the election for the additional members by their party colours.
Prime Minister before election Pakalitha Mosisili DC Elected Prime Minister Tom Thabane ABC

Pakalitha Mosisili
DC

Tom Thabane
ABC

Early general elections were held in Lesotho on 3 June 2017 to elect all 120 seats of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament. The elections were called more than three years ahead of schedule due to a successful vote of no confidence against the incumbent Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.

After three years out of power, Pakalitha Mosisili returned to office as Prime Minister in the February 2015 general election as leader of the Democratic Congress, defeating Prime Minister Tom Thabane of the All Basotho Convention. However, in November 2016 an agreement was announced between the deputy leader of the Democratic Congress, Monyane Moleleki, and Tom Thabane to remove Mosisili and install Moleleki as Prime Minister. Moleleki was suspended from the Democratic Congress in December 2016 and launched a new party, the Alliance of Democrats, in January 2017.

On 12 February 2017 Thabane returned to Lesotho from self-imposed exile, declaring that Prime Minister Mosisili no longer commanded a parliamentary majority and vowing to oust him in a vote of no confidence. He claimed that he was risking his life by returning.

The new opposition alliance defeated Mosisili in a vote of no confidence on 1 March 2017 and proposed Moleleki as the new Prime Minister; Mosisili, faced with the choice of stepping aside in favor of Moleleki or calling an early election, chose the latter. He advised King Letsie III to dissolve Parliament, and the King did so on 7 March, despite an opposition effort to obstruct the move. It was announced on 13 March that an early election would be held on 3 June 2017.