Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Power struggles in the Basutoland Congress Party, 1991-1997 |
Author: | Pule, Neville W. |
Year: | 1999 |
Periodical: | Lesotho Social Sciences Review (ISSN 1028-0790) |
Volume: | 5 |
Issue: | 1 |
Period: | June |
Pages: | 1-30 |
Language: | English |
Notes: | biblio. refs. |
Geographic terms: | Lesotho Southern Africa |
Subjects: | elections 1993 Basotho Congress Party politics political science Political crisis governance Basutoland Congress Party |
Abstract: | The Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) was never before 1993 considered a dominant party. However, to sweep all sixty-five parliamentary seats as the BCP did in 1993 raised the possibility of a dominant party in the making. Yet the BCP's emerging dominance was short-lived as factionalism and the accompanying power struggles took their toll, leading to the party's inability to translate its strategic position into a decisive influence on policy. This paper examines the nature, causes, and consequences of intra-party strife in the BCP in the period 1991 to 1997. It focuses on the power struggle between the party's two contending factions, known as Majelathoko and Pressure Group. The Majelathoko-Pressure Group divide was not the only instance of intraparty strife within the BCP, but it was the most visible to the public. Both factions harboured a variety of disaffected groupings. The paper identifies the areas of conflict and the perspectives adopted by both factions up to June 1997, when the then leader of the BCP and Prime Minister, Ntsu Mokhehle, announced the formation of a new political party, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. |