UNDP's Democratic Governance programme is focused on supporting the promotion of transparent, accountable and effective governance at all levels, with specific emphasis on capacity strengthening of governance institutions, including Parliament and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), as well as supporting the decentralisation process.

Since restoration of democratic rule in 1993, UNDP has worked hand-in-hand with the Government of Lesotho, political parties, the IEC, civil society and development partners to strengthen the country’s democracy and to promote a culture of dialogue and negotiation for resolution of national issues. Under a new, and more inclusive electoral model (MMP), and following an elaborate registration process, a world class general election was held in May 2002. Since then, Lesotho has made great progress in deepening democracy including successfully running the country’s first ever local elections held in April 2005. A noteworthy feature of the local election was that one third of all seats were reserved for women candidates. During 2006, Lesotho began to prepare for the next general election scheduled for 2007 as well as making preparations for the first Peer Review as part of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

In line with the Lesotho Country Programme Document (CPD) 2005-2007, recent programmes have focused on supporting: the decentralisation process following the 2005 local elections; parliamentary capacity building through e-Governance; enhanced citizen participation in the democratic process; review of the parliamentary operating procedures with particular attention to the committee structure and working with Parliamentarians to scale-up the national response to HIV and AIDS; Lesotho’s participation in the APRM; and the protection and promotion of human rights in Lesotho through the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission.

Current areas of Support

1. e-Government programme for effective public service delivery
2. Support to the IEC, political parties and other political stakeholders in holding National 3. Assembly Elections, February 2007
4. Assistance to the decentralization process through capacity building among councilors and civil society as well as local development initiatives
5. Scaling Up the National Response to HIV&AIDS
6. Technical support to the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission
7. Support to women councillors and insuring gender-sensitive policies as well as establishing one-stop centres for women and children victims of violence
8. Financial support to the Government of Lesotho’s participation in the African Peer

9. Review Mechanism (APRM).