Over 30 Heads of State and Government have been invited to witness the official inauguration of the Prime Minister-elect on October 28 at the glamourous occasion set to be held at Setsoto stadium.
Speaking at the end of the army’s rehearsals as part of the build-up for the Prime Minister’s inauguration, the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr. Tumelo Raboletse said a total of 32 Heads of State and governments have been invited for the inauguration but that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations was busy with the confirmations.
Talking about the preparations, he said His Majesty King Letsie III as head of state will inspect the army’s guard of honour while the Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL) will open the ceremony with a prayer service before speeches are made.
He also highlighted that the Prime Minister-designate will also be allowed to go around the stadium greeting spectators, saying at the end of the event, His Majesty together with his invited guests will have lunch at the Royal Palace in Maseru while the public will have entertainment at Setsoto stadium.
The Principal Secretary said no cars will be allowed near the stadium, saying parking lots have been arranged at Pitso Ground, Lesotho High School and the Lesotho Cooperative College, adding that as multitudes of Basotho are expected to descend at Setsoto stadium to witness the inauguration of the new Prime Minister, big screens will be installed at Sethaleng sa Mopapa.
He noted that arrangements have also been made for the state-owned Lesotho Television and Radio Lesotho to broadcast the proceedings live in order for others to watch in the comfort of their homes while others could watch it on social media platforms.
The Prime Minister’s inauguration follows the 2022 National Assembly election held on October 7 whereby the Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) won 56 constituencies out of 80 with the Democratic Congress (DC) in second with 18 constituencies plus eight additional seats from the Proportional Representation system.
Since RFP failed to win 60 plus one seats to rule alone, it formed a coalition with two other political parties thus the Alliance of Democrats (AD) which has two constituencies plus three PR seats as well as Movement for Economic Change (MEC) with a total of one constituency plus three PR seats to bring collective seats to 65 out of the 119, excluding Stadium Area which had failed elections after one of the candidates died prior to the polls.
This will be the fifth Coalition Government formed in Lesotho since 2012 when the first was formed between the All Basotho Convention (ABC), Basotho National Party (BNP), Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) and Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL).
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is yet to hold fresh elections to bring the total number of National Assembly seats to 120.
Source: LENA 26/10/2022
