The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has strongly warned Basotho to avoid voting twice as that is a criminal offence and those found guilty will be arrested immediately.

IEC Public Relations Manager (PRM), Mr. Tuoe Hantsi said those who have already inked their fingers will not be eligible to cast their votes again, adding that the commission has a device that will detect whether the finger has an indelible ink, even if attempts to remove it were made and is no longer visible through a naked eye.

He added that cellphones and cameras will not be allowed inside the voting booths, saying pictures are not allowed while voting.

He also warned the general public and traders not to sell liquor closer to the polling stations and should be closed on that day.

”It is crucial to observe section 60 of the National Electoral Act, which says that all should stop campaigning before the election day and that the last day for campaigning is Wednesday October 5,” he highlighted.

IEC also warned that Basotho in Embassies in other countries, their family members and workers will only be allowed to cast their votes where they are deployed, saying the rest will have to come back home to vote.

Meanwhile, political parties such as Movement for Economic Change (MEC), Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), Socialist Revolutionaries (SR) and HOPE held their final rallies to demonstrate that they are ready to be the next government come the polling day which is Friday.

There is a total of 65 political parties registered with the commission even though not all of them are going to contest in this year’s elections while others have resolved to form alliances ahead of the elections.

Lesotho has adopted the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral model that consists of 40 seats obtained from the compensatory seats plus 80 constituencies in the First Past the Post (FPP) to bring the total of parliamentary seats to 120.

Source: LENA 05/10/2022