IEC move applauded

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has embarked on a spirited re-registration campaign targeting young voters.

This significant step reflects a commitment to ensuring that young people have a voice in shaping the political landscape of the country, as Lesotho prepares for the 2027 national general elections.

The initiative, which commenced on Monday this week and is expected to end on March 31, 2025, is aimed at increasing youth participation and fostering a culture of civic engagement and empowerment.

The IEC is partnering with the European Union (EU), which will assist with materials, information and monitoring. Two local non-government organisations (NGOs) have been engaged to mobilise young people to register as voters in the electoral commission’s re-registration drive.

This partnership between the IEC, EU and the NGOs is very timely and could not have come at a better time. Basotho youth have over the years shied away from casting their votes and in the processing losing opportunities to decide the future they want and throwing their democratic rights, only to complain that elected governments do not serve their interests.

We have often seen young people drinking and dancing outside polling stations without being able to vote because they did not register. Some see voter registration as a waste of time. They would rather attend political rallies which they view as ‘entertainment festivals’ and it ends there.

Statistics from the last general elections in October 2022 show that 1,388,117 Basotho registered to vote out of an estimated 2.1 million people. Out of these, only 524,648 turned up to actually cast their votes, (about 37.80 percent) meaning the majority decided to stay away.

It is against this background that we applaud the initiative by the IEC to encourage voter registration this early.

Increasing youth registration, particularly during the festive season when they are more likely to be present in their communities, is one effective way of doing this. We urged the youth to seize this opportunity to register/re-register.