Pretoria - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa will today travel to Lesotho to mediate in the political crisis after the leaders agreed to bring the country’s election date forward from 2017, in an attempt to solve the impasse.
The new election date is expected to be announced as soon as possible.
This visit follows a special double troika summit by leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Monday which appointed Deputy President Ramaphosa as facilitator.
He will be supported in his task by a team of SADC Troika member-state experts and secretariat, according to the Presidency.
“During the visit, Deputy President Ramaphosa, is expected to interact with members of the Coalition Government and other political role-players in the country as part of efforts to help the people of Lesotho to find a solution to their current political and security challenges,” his spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.
The SADC Troika has urged all role-players in the Kingdom of Lesotho to, ''resolve their political challenges in accordance with the constitution, laws of the land and in line with democratic principles”.
The SADC Troika has also given Deputy President Ramaphosa clear terms of reference to facilitate the restoration of political and security stability in Lesotho, in the short and long term.
In pursuance of this objective, the parties in Lesotho agreed to bring forward the date of elections and to work with the Facilitator in ''addressing all political and security challenges in preparation for the brought forward elections''. - SAnews.gov.za
