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On 28 February, citizens of Lesotho voted in parliamentary and presidential elections. These were snap elections, called two years ahead of time, and were designed to drag the country out of the political and constitutional crisis which had left its government crippled for the last year. They were meant to signal a fresh start for Basotho democracy - and, from the perspective of most observers, they did.

'Based on its observations, the [Southern African Development Community] Electoral Observation Mission [SEOM] concludes that the 2015 National Assembly Elections in the Kingdom of Lesotho were peaceful, transparent, credible, free and fair, thus reflecting the will of the people of the Kingdom of Lesotho,' said South Africa's Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who led the SEOM.

South Africa's Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, chief mediator in the negotiations that resulted in the election, concurred. 'The people of Lesotho have spoken. The people of Lesotho have indeed indicated who should occupy the seat. Democracy has reigned,' he said.

This could plunge Lesotho back into exactly the kind of chaos from which it has just emerged

Having witnessed it myself, there is little doubt that this was a free and fair election. Democracy reigned indeed, and - thanks to a cumbersome seven-party coalition - the party that received more votes than anyone else overall, and the most parliamentary seats, will lead government.

Nonetheless, analysts have pointed to critical weaknesses in this new, democratically elected government that could plunge Lesotho back into exactly the kind of constitutional chaos from which it has just emerged.

For one thing, the incoming Prime Minister Phalitha Mosisili does not have a decisive mandate from the people. And his majority is razor thin. His party, the Democratic Congress (DC), received just 3 551 votes more than the second-placed All Basotho Convention (ABC), and just one extra seat in Parliament - 47 seats, compared to the ABC's 46.

Mosisili is also forced to rely on six other coalition parties for his parliamentary majority; a delicate balancing which his predecessor, the ABC's Tom Thabane, failed to maintain - although Mosisili, with 65 seats of 120 in his coalition, has a little more breathing room. Should any one of these parties cross the floor, Mosisili could find himself in exactly the same situation that Thabane did: unable to push through legislation, and facing a no confidence vote.

The fragility of Lesotho's coalition government begs the question: while the government may be elected democratically, is it the right kind of democracy?

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Lesotho: Democracy Reigns - but Which Democracy, Exactly?