Basotho National Party
LeaderMachesetsa Mofomobe
PresidentMachesetsa Mofomobe
SpokespersonMasetota Leshota
FounderLeabua Jonathan
Founded1959
HeadquartersBNP Centre Maseru Lesotho
IdeologyConservatism[1]
Christian democracy[1]
Nationalism
Populism[1]
Political positionCentre-right
Continental affiliationDemocrat Union of Africa
ColorsBlue, White, Red, Green
National Assembly
1 / 120
Party flag

The Basotho National Party is a political party in Lesotho, founded in 1959 in colonial Basutoland as the Basutoland National Party by Leabua Jonathan. He was Prime Minister from the 1965 general election until the 1986 coup d'état.

In the 1993 general election, the BNP received almost 23% of the vote but did not win any seats in the National Assembly, with all 65 seats going to the party's rival, the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP). It suffered a similar defeat in the 1998 general election, in which it won 24.5% of the vote but only one seat in the National Assembly. Due to its lack of success in winning constituencies, the party sought the introduction of proportional representation in deciding the allocation of seats; as a compromise, a mixed system providing for 40 compensatory seats that would be decided through proportional representation (in addition to the 80 constituency seats) was introduced.[2]

Justin Lekhanya, the leader of the 1986 coup, was elected as Party Leader of the BNP at its Conference in March 1999.[3] In the 25 May 2002 general election, the party won 21 compensatory seats through proportional representation[2] with 22.4% of the vote. Since then, the party has been rocked by internal squabbles which have seen it fail to provide an effective opposition within the Lesotho parliament. In the 17 February 2007 general election, the party won only 3 out of 120 seats. Its headquarters is in Maseru, the capital city.

Electoral Performance

Election Proportional Constituency Seats +/- Government
Votes Share Votes Share
1960 N/A —
1 / 80
 New Opposition
1965 108,140 42.01 —
31 / 60
 Increase 30 Majority
1970 129,434 42.23 —
23 / 60
 Decrease 8 BNP coup d'état
1985 Only contesting party —
60 / 60
 Increase 37 Supermajority
1993 120,686 22.66 —
0 / 65
 Decrease 60 Extra-parliamentary
1998 145,210 24.45 —
1 / 89
 Increase 1 Opposition
2002 124,234 22.41 115,085 21.44
21 / 120
 Increase 20 Opposition
2007 29,965 6.76 24,721 5.76
3 / 120
 Decrease 18 Opposition
2012 32,788 4.31 —
5 / 120
 Increase 2 Coalition
2015 31,508 5.53 —
7 / 120
 Increase 2 Opposition
2017 23,451 4.05 —
5 / 120
 Decrease 2 Coalition
2022 7,343 1.43 —
1 / 120
 Decrease 4 Opposition

References

  1. 1 2 3 Matlosa, K. T. (2005). Political parties and democratisation in Lesotho. Caleb Nchafatso Sello, Electoral Institute of South Africa. Johannesburg: EISA. ISBN 1-920095-28-4. OCLC 64586659.
  2. 1 2 Political Parties of the World (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, pages 376–377.
  3. ↑ "Committee of Privileges Reports to Parliament; Opposition MP Bereng Sekhonyana Murdered" Archived 2010-04-07 at the Wayback Machine, Summary of Events in Lesotho - 2nd Quarter 2006, trc.org.ls.


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