Lesotho · Government
Government and administration in Lesotho
How the executive, legislature and administrative state are organised, and which body is responsible for what.
The three branches
- Head of state — King
- Constitutional monarch; acts on the advice of the Council of State and has no executive power.
- Executive — Prime Minister and Cabinet
- Drawn from and accountable to the National Assembly.
- Legislature — National Assembly and Senate
- The Senate seats the 22 principal chiefs and 11 nominated members.
- Judiciary — Judicial Service Commission
- Advises on judicial appointments.
How legislation is made
Bills pass three readings in the National Assembly, go to the Senate for review, and receive royal assent. The Senate can delay but not indefinitely block ordinary bills. Amendments to entrenched constitutional provisions require a two-thirds majority and, for the most protected clauses, a referendum.
Enforcement institutions
- Director of Public Prosecutions
- Independent prosecuting authority.
- Lesotho Mounted Police Service
- Principal investigative and public-order agency.
- Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences
- Statutory anti-corruption investigator.
- Office of the Ombudsman
- Constitutional office covering maladministration.
Government bodies and regulators
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