KHAFUNG-QHOALI BY-ELECTIONS REFLECT ELECTORATE WILL - LCN

 
The Lesotho Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (LCN) has declared the by-elections at Khafung and Qhoali as a true reflection of the will of the electorate in the two constituencies.

The LCN statement issued on Wednesday, regarding Khafung and Qhoali by-elections,  is based on the observation that the general environment was peaceful, since there were no reported cases that could pose any negative impact on the entire electoral process.

The statement however, indicates that voters were going into polling booths in  very small numbers and there was no influx in any of the polling stations in both constituencies. It further stipulates that most of the voters were old women, while men were fewer in numbers, stating that youth also seemed not to be interested, as they also participated in small numbers.

LCN says the average voter turn out was 34 percent and  has expressed that a concerted effort to influence youth participation in elections has to be made. The statement also noted a  concern that at Kopanong Primary School polling station, a presiding officer was rude and not cooperative to observers. "Good public relations has to be instilled to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) staff, otherwise rudeness and inability to cooperate with the electorate and other stakeholders in the elections can jeopardize stability and influence a low turnout of the electorate to the polling stations", the statement says.

LCN concluded that  while the IEC staff performance was satisfactory, there were some areas that needed to be improved. One area is training of  which it was realised that  most of the presiding officers and their support staff seemed to have last attended training before the national elections in May last year and as a result they were still not confident in their work.

The Khafung and Qhoali by-elections followed the death of members of parliament for the two constituencies, Mr. Mats'asa Seshea MP and Mr. Vova Bulane MP respectively. The Khafung by-election was won by Mr. Thabo Shao of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), while Qhoali by-election was won by Mr. Tlokotsi Belebesi who also represented LCD.
 

27 August 2003