SADC OBSERVERS CALL ON BASOTHO TO HAVE TOLERANCE
 
Head of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum elections observation mission in Lesotho, Mr Amusaa Mwanamwambwe has called on and encouraged the Basotho nation to have a spirit of tolerance, transparency and fair contest  in the upcoming elections. Speaking at a press conference held at Lesotho Sun on Wednesday 22 May, Mr Mwanamwambwe said the SADC Parliamentary Forum observation mission therefore seeks to lend support to the democratic process in Lesotho by raising public confidence in electoral process. He encouraged tolerance and transparency among political contestants and stakeholders and pledged to uphold their mission in Lesotho by assessing the relative legitimacy of the electoral process and outcome thereof in terms of the constitution and electoral laws of Lesotho as well as the norms and standards of the SADC region.


             
The head of the Parliamentary forum  promised that they would serve as  neutral witnesses of the electoral process in the country and their observation process would be done in terms of the electoral constitution and electoral laws of the Kingdom of Lesotho as read together with the SADC Parliamentary Forum's Norms and Standards for elections in the SADC region, which they believe are the basis upon which peaceful and credible elections can be anchored.


The mission, consisting of 26 parliamentarians from 10 countries of the SADC region, arrived in Lesotho on May 15, 2002. The delegates have been deployed in all the districts of the country since  Sunday,19 May  where they will consult with the electoral stakeholders and other observers during their observation of the electoral process.

23 MAY 2002

  SOURCE: LESOTHO NEWS AGENCY/THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS,