Limpho Sello
PROFESSOR Nqosa Mahao has called on the outgoing national executive committee (NEC) of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) to abandon any plans of forming a new party and work with his newly elected committee to build the ABC into a vibrant party that will resoundingly win the next general elections in 2022.
Addressing a weekend rally in the Mosalemane constituency in Berea, Prof Mahao, who was elected the deputy leader at the ABC’s 1-2 February 2019 conference, said the new NEC was ready to work with the outgoing NEC for the good of the party. The old NEC has refused to hand over power to the new NEC, alleging that Prof Mahao and his colleagues rigged their way to victory in the February party polls.
The old NEC has further said that they cannot allow a “relative newcomer” like Prof Mahao to succeed the party leader and Prime Minister, Thomas Thabane, when the latter eventually leaves office. However, Prof Mahao has rejected calls for him to step down and on Sunday, he expressed his willingness to work with his rivals.
He said he had heard rumours that if they failed to win the power struggle, the old NEC would break away and form another party. He however, implored them to abandon such plans and join his team to work for a stronger ABC.
“Let me just appeal to them (old NEC) and say that democracy is about numbers,” Prof Mahao said.
“My advice to them is that the future of this country lies with the ABC so they need to come to their senses and forget about their intentions of forming a new party.”
Prof Mahao said if at one time Dr Thabane was able to forge an understanding and work with the former and current leaders of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), Pakalitha Mosisili and Mothetjoa Metsing respectively, then there was no reason why the new and old ABC’s NECs could not work together.
Dr Thabane was a member of the-then Mosisili-led LCD before jumping ship to form the ABC in 2006. Mr Metsing served as Deputy Prime Minister in the first coalition that was headed by Dr Thabane from 2012 to 2015.
And on Sunday, Prof Mahao said, “if Dr Thabane worked with Metsing and Mosisili, let me tell you that I, Nqosa Mahao, do not have a problem of working with (outgoing secretary general Samonyane) Ntsekele”.
“We are not afraid of him (Ntsekele) because there is nothing to be afraid of. We need him in the ABC together with his colleagues so that we can work on building this party. They must stay in the ABC because we still need them.”
Prof Mahao said the “ABC had become the laughing stock of other parties” who were now asking if the same party, whose leaders were refusing the outcome of its own internal elections, could be trusted to accept the outcome of the national elections if they lost.