By Staff Reporter
Traditional leaders continue to enjoy popular support in contemporary Lesotho, Afrobarometer survey findings show.
Traditional leaders are more widely trusted and seen as less prone to corruption than elected leaders. Indeed, a majority of Basotho would favour an even stronger role for traditional leaders, who they say look out for the interests of their communities and work in cooperation, rather than competition, with elected leaders.
In line with studies showing that traditional leaders have remained relevant in many African societies embracing democratic institutions of governance, these survey findings suggest that in Lesotho, traditional and modern systems can work in concert for the benefit of ordinary citizens.
The key findings of the survey:
- Two-thirds (64 percent) of Basotho approve of the job their traditional leaders are doing, a far better performance rating than they give their community councillors, members of Parliament, or then-Prime Minister Thomas Thabane.
- Traditional leaders are considerably more widely trusted (57 percent) and less commonly seen as corrupt (16 percent) than elected officials.
- Most Basotho see traditional leaders as highly influential in resolving disputes and governing their local community, but few say they carry much weight in affecting how people vote in elections.
- Six in 10 Basotho (61 percent) support an increased level of influence for traditional leaders in the governing of local communities.
- Basotho say traditional authorities are better than community councillors and MPs about listening to ordinary people, and two-thirds (66 percent) believe traditional leaders look out for the interests of the people in their communities.
Afrobarometer is a Pan-African, nonpartisan research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. It conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples.
The Afrobarometer team in Lesotho, led by Advision Lesotho, interviewed 1,200 adult Basotho in February-March 2020.
