Antecedentes

The history of elections in Lesotho over the past decade is a troubled one.  Confusion around the 1998 elections brought rioting in several cities and led to military intervention to quell disturbances by South Africa and Botswana, ostensibly under Southern African Development Community (SADC) auspices.  The 2002 election was comparatively peaceful and the outcomes fully accepted, following major revisions in the electoral laws between 1998 and 2000.  The circumstances of the 2007 national election, combined with some remaining ambiguity in the new laws, however, led to disputes around the outcome of that national election.  A prolonged effort by SADC to mediate ended when former President Masire of Botswana declared an impasse and withdrew as a mediator in early 2009.   

However, a concerted “home team” mediation effort led by the Heads of Churches of Lesotho and UNDP with the support of SADC brought consensus in 2011 on key changes in the electoral laws. This set the stage for National Elections in 2012.  Parliament was dissolved on March 15, 2012, and one of Lesotho’s most hotly contested election periods was officially launched.  
 
The then-ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy split on the eve of the election, throwing the anticipated outcomes into question.  The then-Prime Minister formed his own new party, the Democratic Congress.  A lack of service delivery and perceived corruption and nepotism in the Mosisili regime had for some time eroded public support for the LCD. The split in the party reflected further trouble, a prolonged contest for leadership and succession contest within the LCD.

The election was held on May 26 and all parties agreed that it was “free and fair. But no one party won enough votes to form a government on its own.  This was a novel situation for Lesotho, one with few laws and no precedents for guidance. Emotions and anxieties were high.
 
On June 8, Thomas Thabane of the ABC succeeded Pakalitha Mosisili of the DC as the Prime Minister. Thabane came into power in a coalition arrangement he formed with the LCD and Basotho National Party (BNP).  The trio command a 61 seat majority in Parliament while the DC remains the largest opposition with 48 seats.  The country has now moved from a single party majority government to a fragile coalition government, made up of three political minority parties who joined in a coalition to form a majority in Parliament.
 
Development Challenge         

The program responds to the above-mentioned unexpected turn of events just prior to the elections and thereafter.  The lack of a clear winner and resulting formation of a tripartite-coalition government is unprecedented for Lesotho.  Lesotho has few legal or procedural guidelines for such a situation.
 
Further, there are no precedents for guidance on how to make a coalition succeed and little experience with a recognized opposition. The success of this coalition government will require a unique response, one that hopefully will lead to best practices based on reconciliation and mediation. The procedures put in place in response to this first coalition government will impact how future coalitions are perceived and governed in Lesotho and generally contribute positively to the stability of the country.

To achieve maximum momentum and sustainability of the successful transition of government that has been achieved in this election and its aftermath, the electoral processes and trends that have emerged should be reviewed, explicitly stated, and expanded upon.

Program Objectives and Illustrative Activities
 
The main objective of this nine-month program is for the United Nations Development Programme to implement a program of political consolidation and peaceful government transition in Parliament and the Executive in Lesotho, during the high-risk post-election period.  This will be done through support for establishing a stable coalition government, review of the electoral institutions, processes and legal framework for immediate and longer-term consolidation of the gains that have been made, and strengthening the processes of dialogue and mediation that played a key role in the gains that have been made over the last year.
 
The various parties are in process of establishing a coalition government in the immediate term.  The durability and effectiveness of that government depends upon the building of consensus and capturing of lessons learned from the recent elections to improve future practices. The Government of Lesotho is inexperienced in this area, having never had to form such a coalition government previously. UNDP brings expertise and credibility to the longer term development of a successful coalition government. Its staff was deeply involved in support to the IEC and the Heads of Churches over the last several years. They carefully followed the development of the current status quo up to present.
 
Program goals under this objective are in line with U.S. Foreign Assistance Framework: Governing Justly and Democratically for Political Competition and Consensus Building: Elections and Political Processes. The long-term U.S. foreign assistance priorities and goals for Southern Africa are to support regional interventions that can foster integration through the promotion of democratic reforms and sharing of best practices.  This particular intervention seeks to utilize UNDP’s regional expertise and best practices in support of the Government of Lesotho.
 
The Lesotho Consensus Building and Electoral Reform Program supports the goals of the SADC Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ on Politics, Defense and Security (SIPO) that focuses on the need to create a peaceful and stable political and security environment through which the region can realize its socio-economic objectives.  SIPO emphasizes the need for democratic consolidation in the region, and the development of the principles governing democratic elections to enhance the transparency and credibility of elections and democratic governance as well as ensuring the acceptance of election results by all contesting parties.

Deberes y responsabilidades

  • Review and analyze related documentation of events such as: project progress reports; minutes of workshops, trainings and other capacity building events;
  • Review and analyze reports and minutes of parliamentary meetings, committee meetings, cabinet meetings (to the extent they are public), and decisions that derived from coalition working;
  • Consult with select Members of Parliament and Presiding Officers, Government Secretary, Parliament staff, Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL) Secretariat and the IEC on the processes and outcomes of those generated by the project and conduct a survey on their perception of support provided;
  • Interview more in-depth sample beneficiaries, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, IEC Director of Elections, the Government Secretary and selected Members of Parliament.

Competencias

Functional Competencies:
  • Demonstrated ability to assess complex situations succinctly distills critical issues, and draw forward-looking conclusions and recommendations;
  • Ability and experience to work with multi disciplinary and national teams, and deliver quality reports within the given time;
  • Excellent business development, negotiation, analytical, research, presentation and communication skills;
  • Demonstrated Professional achievements in the relevant fields;
  • Writing and communication will be in English, and must have excellent communication skills in English.  

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

 
Qualifications :
  • Masters Degree in Political Sciences, Governance, International Relations, Public Administration or other related fields

Experience:

  • A minimum of 8 years of experience in the field of democracy and governance reform initiatives in developing countries particularly in the area of capacity building of Electoral Management Bodies;
  • Extensive knowledge of evaluating democratic governance related capacity building programmes;
  • Experience working with democratic institutions preferably with election administration bodies;
  • Experience working with UN or bi-lateral agencies preferably on evaluating multi-donor projects;
  • Demonstrated research experiences.

Language Requirement:

  • Fluency in written and spoken English is essential
Note:
For full, detailed Terms of Reference for this advertisement please go to: http://www.undp.org.ls/jobs/default.php