With three-quarters of the results in Lesotho's parliamentary elections declared, Prime Minister Tom Thabane's All Basotho Convention (ABC) was on its way to securing a clear majority of directly-elected seats in the National Assembly.
In a summary published soon after noon on Monday, Lesotho time, the country's Independent Electoral Commission reported that the ABC had won 38 of 60 seats declared. If it wins three more of the 20 seats still to be announced, it will have a majority of the 80 directly-elected seats.
However, the final balance of power may not be decided until another 20 seats are allocated on the basis of proportional representation.
Former prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili's Democratic Congress had won 20 seats by midday Monday. It held the single biggest number of seats in the last parliament, although not enough to out-vote a coalition including the ABC and the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). On Monday the LCD had won only two seats.
Update - In a summary of results published soon after 4.30 pm, the Democratic Congress had recovered considerable ground with the announcement of rural results, winning 33 seats. With 40 seats, the ABC had half the directly-elected seats. The LCD still had two seats and the Basotho National Party one. This increases the chances that the makeup of the new government will depend on seats awarded on the basis of proportional representation.
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.
This report has been updated since it was first published.
