Multi-partyism versus democracy in southern Africa: 'whither Lesotho'

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Periodical article

Title:	Multi-partyism versus democracy in southern Africa: 'whither Lesotho'
Author:	Matlosa, Khabele
Year:	1992
Periodical:	Verfassung und Recht in Übersee
Volume:	25
Issue:	3
Pages:	327-340
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Lesotho
Subjects:	democracy multiparty systems
Abstract:	In many African countries, the debate on multipartyism has become one of the most important and most ardently disputed issues in constitutional law and on the political scene. This article takes the case of Lesotho as an example. It begins with a discussion of the contrasting definitions of the concepts of multipartyism and democracy in a Western and an African setting. It then continues with a synopsis of the African democracy debate past and present. The next section provides a detailed analysis of democratization in Lesotho, paying attention to the political parties that shaped Lesotho's postcolonial political landscape, the 1965 general election, the second postindependence election of 1985, and the coup d'état of 1986. The author concludes that the 'military democracy' Lesotho is facing may not lead to true multipartyism in the near future. Ref., sum. (p. 282). (Also published in: Lesotho Law Journal, vol. 7, no. 1 (1991), p. 1-19.)