Africa News
Lesotho polls peaceful despite fears of violence─── 07:35 Sun, 01 Mar 2015
Maseru - Lesotho nationals on Saturday voted in early parliamentary elections aimed at restoring stability after the prime minister accused the army of a coup attempt in August.
Twenty-four parties vied for support among the 1.2 million registered voters in the country. Long queues formed at polling stations, raising hopes of a high turnout.
The vote count was due to start immediately after polling stations closed, with the first results expected today and the final ones by Thursday.
Maryke Vermaak is in Maseru.
The elections were moved forward by two years after soldiers were accused of attempting a coup on August 30, surrounding Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's residence and police headquarters. One police officer was killed.
The army said at the time it only wanted to disarm rogue elements within the police force - but the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said the events "had the hallmarks" of a coup.
Thabane fled to South Africa and returned to Lesotho under South African police escort.
The premier's three-party coalition government had run into trouble in June 2014, when his deputy Mothetjoa Metsing announced a vote of no confidence against him, prompting him to dissolve parliament.
Analysts say the strife could be related to Thabane's anti-corruption campaign, which threatened to implicate Metsing. The deputy premier has denied involvement in a coup attempt.
The 24 parties contesting the elections included Thabane's All Basotho Convention (ABC), Metsing's Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) and the smaller Basotho National Party (BNP), which form the coalition government.
The biggest party in the current parliament is former prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili's Democratic Congress (DC), which took nearly 40 per cent of the vote in the 2012 elections, but did not join the coalition.
JacarandaFM, Sapa
Maryke Vermaak:
