Lesotho elections quandary after ConCourt ruling

Lesotho’s 7 October election date suddenly appears at risk. The date was announced by the country’s Independent Electoral Commission in July, but a new decision of the Constitutional Court has found that the delimitation of 20 constituencies doesn’t pass constitutional muster because the range in voter numbers is larger or smaller than the 10% variation constitutionally prescribed. The decision, delivered on 8 August, puts the IEC under enormous pressure and it might not be possible to redraw constituencies in time for the elections. Carmel Rickard, in her A Matter of Justice column on the Legalbrief site, reports that this is particularly so since it will not be a question of just adjusting the 20 voter boundaries: tinkering with any boundary will necessarily also affect even those constituencies that are currently compliant.