A total of 18 members of parliament crossed the floor to join the opposition ABC party on October 13, 2006; these included Thabane and 16 other former LCD members, along with one independent member, Lehlohonolo Tšehlana, who has previously been expelled from the LCD.[4]
The 18 members of parliament joining the ABC, along with their constituencies, are:
The ABC became the third largest party in the National Assembly. The ruling party was left with 61 of the 120 parliamentary seats, and the ABC leaders expected more LCD members to defect, which would have given the opposition a majority.[5] In late November, parliament was dissolved and an early election was called for February 2007.[6]
ABC contested the 17 February 2007 Lesotho general elections. It was anticipated that it would win the majority of the urban constituencies. The party won 17 constituency seats, falling far short of the 61 seats won by the LCD.[7]
In the June 2017 parliamentary election, the ABC won the most seats (48 out of 120), and, with its allies, it was able to command a majority.[8] Party leader Tom Thabane was sworn in as Prime Minister on 16 June 2017.[9]
In recent years the party has been riddled with divisions and infighting. It initially started out as a power struggle between Thabane and his former deputy, Nqosa Mahao, who had been elected to the national executive committee (NEC) in 2019. Eventually, Mahao left the ABC and formed his own party called the Basotho Action Party in 2021 with 10 other MPs. He accused Thabane, prime minister Majoro, and ABC secretary general Lebohang Hlaele of plotting to oust him from the party. MP Tefo Mapesela also left the party and formed the Basotho Patriotic Party. The splits along with ABC MPs crossing the floor to other parties caused ABC's number of seats in the National Assembly to drop from 50 in May 2020 to only 35 by January 2022.[10]
In 2020, Thabane stepped down as prime minister after being charged with the murder of his ex-wife, Lipolelo Thabane, although the charges were later dropped.[11]
Thabane announced his intention to step down as leader in January 2022, citing his advanced age and ill health. He also wanted to give the party enough time to choose a successor before the upcoming elections.[10] On 2 February, the party elected Nkaku Kabi to succeed Thabane.[12]
^"Lesotho holds elections for new gov't", Associated Press (CBS News), 17 February 2007.
^ ab"18 MPs Cross the Floor in the National Assembly to Form New Parliamentary Party" 2007-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, Summary of Events in Lesotho - 3rd quarter 2006, trc.org.ls.
^"New Lesotho political party formed", AFP (IOL), October 13, 2006.
^Bethuel Thai, "Lesotho will go to the polls in February 2007", Reuters (IOL), December 1, 2006.
^"Win was not fair - opposition", AFP (IOL), February 21, 2007.
^"Lesotho: Incumbent Mosisili loses election to former Prime Minister Thabane", Africanews, 6 June 2017.
^Ismail Akwei, "'Devastated' Lesotho PM inaugurated after fatal shooting of wife", Africanews, 16 June 2017.
^ ab"Why Thabane Is Stepping Down As ABC Leader". Lesotho Times. 7 January 2022. from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^Mohloboli, Marafaele (2022-10-07). "Lesotho elects new parliament amid unresolved political crisis". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
^"ABC elects new leader". Africa Press. 2 February 2022. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
basotho, convention, sotho, kobo, tata, basotho, political, party, lesotho, party, formed, october, 2006, founded, thabane, former, minister, lesotho, congress, democracy, government, prime, minister, pakalitha, mosisili, nkaku, kabi, party, since, february, 2. The All Basotho Convention ABC Sotho Kobo tata ea Basotho 2 is a political party in Lesotho The party was formed in October 2006 and founded by Tom Thabane a former minister in the Lesotho Congress for Democracy LCD led by the government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili 3 Nkaku Kabi has led the party since February 2022 All Basotho Convention Kobo tata ea BasothoLeaderNkaku KabiFounderTom ThabaneFoundedOctober 2006 2006 10 Split fromLesotho Congress for DemocracyIdeologyLiberalismPolitical positionCentre 1 Colors Yellow Red GreenNational Assembly8 120Websiteabc wbr org wbr lsPolitics of LesothoPolitical partiesElections Contents 1 History 2 Election Results 3 References 4 External linksHistory editA total of 18 members of parliament crossed the floor to join the opposition ABC party on October 13 2006 these included Thabane and 16 other former LCD members along with one independent member Lehlohonolo Tsehlana who has previously been expelled from the LCD 4 The 18 members of parliament joining the ABC along with their constituencies are M Maliehe Butha Buthe Sello Peter Maphalla Hlotse Mokholane Pita Maputsoe Lijane Edwin Selikane Mosalemane Matooane Mokhosi Bela Bela Clement S Machakela Mahlatsa Mabuo Kojoana Thupa Kubu Seeiso Simon Sehloho Mabote Mokherane Chaltin Tsatsanyane Stadium Area Mapheello B Tsuluba Qoaling Molobeli Bernard Soulo Lithoteng Tom Thabane Abia Molebatsi Khaile Qeme Freddy Rantelali Shea Maletsunyane Retselisitsoe Ranooe Kolo Seabata Joseph Monare Qhalasi Nyane Mphafi Thaba Tseka Lehlohonolo Tsehlana Mokhotlong 4 The ABC became the third largest party in the National Assembly The ruling party was left with 61 of the 120 parliamentary seats and the ABC leaders expected more LCD members to defect which would have given the opposition a majority 5 In late November parliament was dissolved and an early election was called for February 2007 6 ABC contested the 17 February 2007 Lesotho general elections It was anticipated that it would win the majority of the urban constituencies The party won 17 constituency seats falling far short of the 61 seats won by the LCD 7 In the June 2017 parliamentary election the ABC won the most seats 48 out of 120 and with its allies it was able to command a majority 8 Party leader Tom Thabane was sworn in as Prime Minister on 16 June 2017 9 In recent years the party has been riddled with divisions and infighting It initially started out as a power struggle between Thabane and his former deputy Nqosa Mahao who had been elected to the national executive committee NEC in 2019 Eventually Mahao left the ABC and formed his own party called the Basotho Action Party in 2021 with 10 other MPs He accused Thabane prime minister Majoro and ABC secretary general Lebohang Hlaele of plotting to oust him from the party MP Tefo Mapesela also left the party and formed the Basotho Patriotic Party The splits along with ABC MPs crossing the floor to other parties caused ABC s number of seats in the National Assembly to drop from 50 in May 2020 to only 35 by January 2022 10 In 2020 Thabane stepped down as prime minister after being charged with the murder of his ex wife Lipolelo Thabane although the charges were later dropped 11 Thabane announced his intention to step down as leader in January 2022 citing his advanced age and ill health He also wanted to give the party enough time to choose a successor before the upcoming elections 10 On 2 February the party elected Nkaku Kabi to succeed Thabane 12 Election Results editElection Votes Share Seats Government2007 125 880 29 34 17 120 New Opposition2012 138 917 25 18 30 120 nbsp 13 Government2015 215 022 37 75 46 120 nbsp 16 Opposition2017 235 729 40 52 48 120 nbsp 2 Government2022 37 553 7 29 8 120 nbsp 40 OppositionReferences edit Former Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to step down as leader of the All Basotho Convention Foreign Brief 2022 01 27 Retrieved 2022 05 14 Ma ABC a amohela Mahao ka nku June 4 2019 Lesotho holds elections for new gov t Associated Press CBS News 17 February 2007 a b 18 MPs Cross the Floor in the National Assembly to Form New Parliamentary Party Archived 2007 10 18 at the Wayback Machine Summary of Events in Lesotho 3rd quarter 2006 trc org ls New Lesotho political party formed AFP IOL October 13 2006 Bethuel Thai Lesotho will go to the polls in February 2007 Reuters IOL December 1 2006 Win was not fair opposition AFP IOL February 21 2007 Lesotho Incumbent Mosisili loses election to former Prime Minister Thabane Africanews 6 June 2017 Ismail Akwei Devastated Lesotho PM inaugurated after fatal shooting of wife Africanews 16 June 2017 a b Why Thabane Is Stepping Down As ABC Leader Lesotho Times 7 January 2022 Archived from the original on 24 January 2022 Retrieved 8 October 2022 Mohloboli Marafaele 2022 10 07 Lesotho elects new parliament amid unresolved political crisis Reuters Retrieved 2022 10 11 ABC elects new leader Africa Press 2 February 2022 Archived from the original on 7 October 2022 Retrieved 9 October 2022 External links editOfficial site Archived 2007 01 22 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title All Basotho Convention amp oldid 1174397182, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
