Sefate leader attacks IEC chair
…Nkuebe accuses Mokhothu of trying to remove the Sefate Democratic
Congress from political scene
BY BILLY NTAOTE
MASERU – Sefate Democratic Congress (SDC) leader, Bofihla Nkuebe has launched a scathing attack on the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chairperson Limakatso Mokhothu, accusing her of overstepping her boundaries over an assessment of parties’ compliance with the electoral law.
Nkuebe is alleging Mokhothu crossed the line after the commissioner served the party with a letter seeking to establish whether the SDC was in compliance with the country’s Electoral Act.
The letter, dated October 25, and signed by Mokhothu, reads: “The Commission aims to comply with the Electoral Act and wishes to establish if your party is still in good standing with regards the conditions under which it is registered.
“When your party was registered with the IEC, it met all the conditions for registration; it is time that we assessed your party’s current status in its relationship to the IEC.”
The letter further states: “The Commission wishes to visit the National Executive Committee during its sitting; please invite Mr Motsie to the next sitting. The Commission will not interfere in your governance issues; Mr Motsie’s task will be to establish that a committee exists. He will not sit in your meeting.
“We would also wish to establish if your party still has no less than 500 members. This is very important for equity and equality of voice in political party leaders’ meetings and other IEC activities.”
But Nkuebe has taken issue with the request, accusing the IEC chair of trying to remove him from the political scene, while allegedly paving way for her “friend”, Lekhetho Rakuoane, leader of the Popular Front for Democracy
Fumed Nkuebe in an interview with Public Eye on November 17: “This is just an underhand tactic meant to deprive us of a chance to win back what used to be our stronghold (Qeme constituency). This move is meant to give Lekhetho Rakuoane an easy ride by getting rid of us with these assessments.”
Nkuebe alleged Rakuoane was Mokhothu’s acquaintance and had allegedly insisted during debates of the Interim Political Authority the latter be considered for the post of Commissioner.
According to Nkuebe, Mokhothu was allegedly trying to return the favour by getting rid of the Sefate Democratic Congress.
Continued Nkuebe: “Rakuaone visited our stronghold of Ha Mpo village, in the Qeme constituency and told the people there that I would never win an election within the constituency. That was when he was soliciting support recently in that constituency. He further told the villagers that our party is not going to stand for elections.”
According to Nkuebe, the last statement proved he had either been tipped-off or involved in moves to banish the SDC from the political scene.
“We don’t even know why the Commissioner is querying the SDC. According to her letter, she argues we are supposed to hold our conferences every June, but she doesn’t consider our constitutional amendments, clearly stipulating our conferences will be held every 15 months and that would be in January next year.
“All our suspicions were confirmed by her refusal to include our members on the list of people who were attending a workshop over election issues in Leribe from November 15 to 19.
“And what surprised us was the Commissioner did not involve the IEC training officer when selecting candidates for that workshop.
“Denying us a chance to attend the workshop was clearly meant to guarantee we aren’t up to speed for the upcoming elections, especially the local government elections scheduled for 2011.”
Contacted for comment, Rakuoane dismissed the allegations as unfounded.
Rakuoane said: “I never held a rally in that constituency, neither did any of our party members.
“The truth is that, yes, the SDC used to have a huge support base in that constituency, especially when Nkuebe was still in parliament after forming the party in 1994, then known as Sefate Democratic Union until it changed its name to SDC in 2003. But what has happened is that most of his supporters have joined my party and that was reflected by the 2007 general elections,” said Rakuoane.
He suggested the Commissioner’s actions on the workshop Nkuebe is complaining about might have been prompted by the need to only consider “serious players” for such events.
“By serious players, I mean those parties that hold rallies and conferences on a regular basis and are actually active. I think the Commissioner might have applied that rationale of serious players or either she just took those parties present in parliament,” said Rakuoane.
Meanwhile, Mokhothu would not comment on the personal attacks by Nkuebe, when contacted by Public Eye on Tuesday this week.
She could only refer Public Eye to the IEC letter, which as had been earlier pointed out by the IEC spokesperson, Tuoe Hantši, was also distributed to other political parties.
“That letter was not only sent to the SDC, but to other parties such as the National Progressive Party, New Lesotho Freedom Party, United Party and Social Democratic Party.
“Nkuebe’s allegations seem to be personal, which I am not in a position to comment on.”
“But what I can say is that the chairperson was not writing in her personal capacity but as a chairperson of the IEC.”
