It’s likely the mountain kingdom surrounded by South Africa will go back to the polls within three months.

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Premier Pakalitha Mosisile has until Monday to say what he’ll do after  his Democratic Congress lost a parliamentary no confidence vote to the breakaway Alliance of Democrats

He could step down and allow AC leader Moyane Moleleki to become Prime Minister.

Or he could advise King Letsie II to call elections.

Mosisile’s  political advisor Fako Likoti says the premier will chose the latter course.

Deputy President  Cyril Ramaphosa, who’s mandated by SADC to mediate for peace and stability in Lesotho since the abortive coup in 2014, is closely monitoring the situation.

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His Democratic Congress shaded Tom Thabane’s All Basotho Convention in last Saturday’s snap poll and formed a coalition government.

In the 2012 election the Democratic Congress won the most parliamentary seats but was short of a majority.

Pakalitha Mosisili was unable to find coalition partners to form a government – leaving the way open to Tom Thabane.

This time round Mosisili’s teamed up with half a dozen opposition parties giving him 18 additional seats and a parliamentary majority.

He has his work cut out restoring stability to the mountain kingdom entirely surrounded by South Africa, where an abortive coup six month ago almost unseated Thabane.

It brought in the region to mediate a deal that included the early election.

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No party has secured enough votes to govern alone.

Saturday’s parliamentary election in Lesotho two years ahead of schedule was intended to ease tensions after an attempted coup last August.

The All Basotho Convention of Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, who fled to South Africa to avoid being overthrown, has won 40 out of 80 constituencies.

The Democratic Congress of former premier Pakalitha Mosisili has taken 37.

Two other parties hold the other three constituencies.

The exact make-up of the 120-member parliament will be announced today as 40 seats are allocated proportionate to votes cast – and there were 23 parties participating.

No single party will be able to get the 61 seats needed to rule outright.

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Results coming in from rural areas have narrowed the early lead won by incumbent prime minister Tom Thabane.

With tallying almost completed last night, Tom Thabane’s All Basotho Convention has 40 of the 120 seats in the assembly.

The Democratic Congress of Pakalitha Mosisili, a former prime minister, won 33 seats.

Thabane’s former coalition partner the Lesotho Congress for Democracy has two seats.

The election, endorsed by both the region and the continent, was for 80 of the assembly places. The remaining 40 are distributed proportionally after the final tally.

Thabane must get enough of these to win an outright parliamentary majority – or start talking a deal with a smaller party.

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