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12-412: Stalemate [REDACTED] Basutoland Congress Party The BCP won the first free elections in 1970 , but the ruling Basutoland National Party declared a state of emergency, annulling the election, dissolving parliament and suspending the constitution. The BCP launched a failed uprising in the government in 1974, which caused Ntsu Mokhehle to go into exile, from which he led the "external" faction of

24-546: A bombing targeting the country's main post office. In 1979 Mokhehle claimed to, in addition to the Libyan-trained troops, possess 500–1000 guerrillas based in the deep mountains of Lesotho. Fighting with the government was intense in 1979–1980, and terrorist attacks by the LLA were frequent over the next few years, with incidents such as the laying of land mines, bombings, mortar attacks, and drive-by shootings. Targets included

36-651: Is a pan-Africanist and left-wing political party in Lesotho . The Basutoland African Congress (BAC) was founded in 1952 by Ntsu Mokhehle and Potlako Leballo . The party was renamed the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) in 1957 and retained this name after independence in 1966, stating that Lesotho was not truly independent. Leballo left the party in 1959 to form the Pan Africanist Congress of South Africa (PAC). The BCP lost

48-631: Is said to have funded the LLA, despite the massive ideological differences, and allowed the guerrillas to pass through South African territory. Despite this association, the connection to the Pan-Africanist Congress wasn't cut. A brother of the leading ANC member Thabo Mbeki , Jama (who was involved with the PAC), was killed in Lesotho in 1982 while attempting to assist the LLA. After increased conflict between Lesotho and South Africa, Jonathan

60-448: The 1965 election relying on the party that it was the oldest and had following instead of campaigning in rural areas, reaching the grass wood level.They only focused on the urban areas where most of its executive members were based hence they lost support from their rural areas,but won in 1970 . It was denied power by a coup d'état in support of the defeated prime minister Leabua Jonathan . In 1974, following an unsuccessful rising,

72-791: The Leribe Airport , the Hilton Hotel , policemen, politicians, petroleum and electricity infrastructure, a United States cultural center, and the West German ambassador's car. Prime Minister Jonathan, previously a close ally of the Apartheid government in South Africa, gradually started straying from its fold, eventually going as far as aiding the African National Congress . In response, P. W. Botha

84-434: The 25 May 2002 general election , the party won 2.6% of the vote and 3 out of 120 seats. This article about a political party of Lesotho is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 1970 Lesotho general election General elections were held in Lesotho on 27 and 28 January 1970, the first since independence in 1966. They were won by the opposition Basutoland Congress Party , but without announcing

96-785: The BCP and the new armed wing, the Lesotho Liberation Army. The new guerrilla movement was closely connected to the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), a South African militant opposition group. Potlako Leballo , a co-founder of the BCP back in 1952, was a prominent leader to the PAC and its armed wing, and largely responsible for its turn towards Maoism . In 1976, the Azanian People's Liberation Army received 178 Basotho migrant miners as recruits, who would form

108-679: The BCP sent 178 men for military training by the PAC in Gaddafi's Libya . In 1979 they began a guerrilla war as the Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA). The party won a landslide victory at the 1993 general election , and its leader Ntsu Mokhehle became prime minister. Mokhehle left the party in 1997 with his faction to form the Lesotho Congress for Democracy . The BCP was led by Tseliso Makhakhe , Qhobela Molapo , Ntsukunyane Mphanya and (currently) Thulo Mahlakeng . At

120-639: The basis of the Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA). They were trained in Libya , where the government of Muammar Gaddafi provided training to the APLA. These recruits were put under the leadership of Matooane Mapefane, who was a senior instructor of the APLA in Libya. The movement was deeply fractured from the start, with factional infighting among the recruits and a lack of discipline. The first LLA attacks began in May 1979, with

132-485: The results, the ruling Basotho National Party carried out a coup d'état by declaring a state of emergency , annulling the election, dissolving parliament and suspending the constitution. King Moshoeshoe II was sent into exile after expressing disapproval of the actions. Leabua Jonathan then dictated the country until 1986 when a military coup d'état led by Major General Justin Lekhanya deposed him. Lesotho

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144-515: Was overthrown in a military coup led by Justin Lekhanya , who is alleged to have accidentally funded the LLA after being subjected to a scam. Ntsu Mokhehle was allowed to return to Lesotho in the early 1990s for peace talks, and the Lesotho Liberation Army was disbanded after the reunification of the Basutoland Congress Party's different factions. The party subsequently won the 1993 general elections , and Mokhehle became prime minister. Basutoland Congress Party The Basutoland Congress Party

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