Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: last held 17 February 2007 (next to be held in 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LCD 61, NIP 21, ABC 17, LWP 10, ACP 4, BNP 3, other 4
Judicial branch:
High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional court
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance of Congress Parties or ACP including the Lesotho People's
Congress or LCP [Kelebone MAOPE], the Basotholand African Congress
or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE], and a faction of the Basotho Congress
Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; All Basotho Convention or ABC
[Thomas THABANE]; Basotho Batho Democratic Party or BBDP; Basotho
Congress Party or BCP; Basotho Democratic National Party or BDNP
[Thabang NYEOE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justin
Metsing LEKHANYA]; Basotholand African National Congress or BANC;
Christian Democratic Party or CDP [Enerst RAMOKOENA]; Lesotho
Congress for Democracy or LCD (the governing party) [Pakalitha
MOSISILI]; Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; National
Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Media Institute of Southern Africa, Lesotho chapter [Thabang
MATJAMA] (pushes for media freedom)