VOLUME 2 NO 1 77 THE ELECTORAL PROCESS AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN LESOTHO Lessons for the Democratic Republic of the Congo By Khabele Matlosa Dr Khabele Matlosa is Director of the Research and Policy Studies Programme of the Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES) Trust, 4 Deary Avenue, Belgravia, Harare, Zimbabwe Tel: +263 4252962; Fax: +263 4252964; e-mail:
[email protected] INTRODUCTION After long years of authoritarian rule, marked, in the main, by either civilian or military dictatorship, all the member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have embraced multi-party democratic governance. Although much progress has been made in a majority of the regional states towards nurturing and consolidating democratic governance, fairly slow progress is still manifest in the case of three SADC member-states, namely Angola, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Swaziland. It is not difficult to understand and explain the rather disappointing record of democratisation in these three states. The main problem in both Angola and the DRC is largely the protracted violent conflict that has characterised them, although it appears now that the prospect of successfully settling these intra-state disputes is fairly bright. Swaziland is steeped in a traditionalism that has entrenched a dynastic form of governance in which the King, as an executive monarch, is central to the running of national affairs. This constitutes a critical democratic deficit for the country. One important ingredient of democratic consolidation in the SADC region is the holding of regular multi-party elections. It should, however, be noted right from the start that an election does not amount to democracy.