PM's party wins vote

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP):

The party of the longtime prime minister won Lesotho's parliamentary elections, according to complete results posted yesterday on the website of the southern African country's Independent Electoral Commission.

Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili's Democratic Congress won 41 of 80 seats, the simple majority needed to form a government, though it may need to form a coalition to consolidate power. The All Basotho Convention, the main opposition, had 26 seats.

Shortly before Saturday's vote in this nation of 2 million, Mosisili broke away from the Lesotho Congress for Democracy, which had been riven by an internal power struggle.

The Lesotho Congress for Democracy had 12 seats while another opposition party had one according to the final results.

Bakili Muluzi, a former president of Malawi who led a Commonwealth election observer mission to Lesotho, said in a statement yesterday that the vote was peaceful and credible. He did, however, express concern about isolated incidents of violence, the need to improve vote registration and other issues.

"We congratulate the people of Lesotho for demonstrating faith in the principles of democracy," Muluzi said in a statement.