With just over half the results in Lesotho's parliamentary elections declared, Prime Minister Tom Thabane's party has a strong lead.

In results published by the country's Independent Electoral Commission on Sunday evening, the All Basotho Convention (ABC) had won 35 of the 47 seats declared.

Former prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili, whose Democratic Congress had held the largest number of seats in the previous parliament, had won 10.

The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), the ABC's coalition partner in the last parliament, had won two.

Early Monday, the results in 33 constituencies had still to be declared.

Eighty of the seats in the National Assembly are filled by constituency representatives chosen directly at the polls. Another 20 are then chosen by proportional representation after the results are in.

Elections due in 2017 were called early after Thabane's coalition government broke down last year and elements of the military carried out an abortive intervention to dislodge him in August.

Thabane suspended Parliament in June when faced with a vote of no confidence. His coalition partners, principally the LCD's Mothetjoa Metsing, accused him of repeatedly failing to consult them since the coalition was formed after the 2012 election.

The new election was brokered by regional leaders of the Southern African Development Community. Security chiefs were sent abroad, the army was confined to barracks and regional police contingents joined the Lesotho Mounted Police Service to monitor the polls.