General elections were held in

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a population ...

on 27 and 28 January 1970, the first since independence in 1966. They were won by the opposition

Basutoland Congress Party The Basutoland Congress Party is a pan-Africanist and left-wing political party in Lesotho. The Basutoland African Congress (BAC) was founded in 1952 by Ntsu Mokhehle and Potlako Leballo. The party was renamed the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) ...

, but without announcing the results, the ruling

Basotho National Party The Basotho National Party is a political party in Lesotho, founded in 1959 in colonial Basutoland as the Basutoland National Party by Leabua Jonathan. He was Prime Minister from the 1965 general election until the 1986 coup d'état. In the ...

carried out a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

by declaring a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

, annulling the election, dissolving

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and suspending the constitution.Lesotho: Authoritarian rule, 1970-1991
EISA King

Moshoeshoe II Moshoeshoe II (2 May 1938 – 15 January 1996), previously known as Constantine Bereng Seeiso, was the Paramount Chief of Basutoland, succeeding paramount chief Seeiso from 1960 until the country gained full independence from Britain in 1966. ...

was sent into exile after expressing disapproval of the actions. Leabua Jonathan then dictated the country until 1986 when a military

led by Major General Justin Lekhanya deposed him. Lesotho was not returned to democratic rule until the 1993 elections, which were again won by the BCP in a landslide victory.

Results

Official results were never published, but figures were made available by election observers.Nohlen ''et al.'', p501

References

Elections in Lesotho 1970 in Lesotho Annulled elections Election and referendum articles with incomplete results {{Africa-election-stub