The Basotho National Party is a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Lesotho

Lesotho

Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...

, founded in the 1959 as the Basutoland National Party by Leabua Jonathan

Leabua Jonathan

Joseph Leabua Jonathan was the second Prime Minister of Lesotho. He succeeded Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986.-Early life and career:...

. He was Prime Minister from 1965 until the coup of 1986.

In the 1993 parliamentary election, the BNP received almost 23% of the vote but did not win any seats in the National Assembly

National Assembly of Lesotho

The National Assembly of Lesotho is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament.The current National Assembly, formed following elections held on 17 February 2007, has a total of 120 members. 80 members are elected in single member constituencies using the simple majority system...

, with all 65 seats going to the party's rival, the Basotho Congress Party

Basotho Congress Party

The Basutoland Congress Party is a pan-africanist and left-wing political party in Lesotho, led by Ntsukunyane Mphanya.The Basutoland African Congress was founded in 1952 by Ntsu Mokhehle and Potlako Leballo. The party was renamed the Basutoland Congress Party in 1957 and retained this name after...

 (BCP). It suffered a similar defeat in the May 1998 parliamentary election, in which it won 24.5% of the vote but only one seat in the National Assembly. Due to its lack of success in winning constituencies, the party sought the introduction of proportional representation

Proportional representation

Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...

 in deciding the allocation of seats; as a compromise, a mixed system providing for 40 compensatory seats that would be decided through proportional representation (in addition to the 80 constituency seats) was introduced.

Justin Lekhanya

Justin Lekhanya

Retired General Justin Metsing Lekhanya was the prime minister, defense minister and chairman of the military council of Lesotho from January 24 1986 until May 2 1991...

, the leader of the 1986 coup, was elected as Party Leader of the BNP at its Conference in March 1999. In the election for the National Assembly held on 25 May 2002, the party won 21 compensatory seats through proportional representation with 22.4% of the vote. Since then, the party has been rocked by internal squabbles which have seen it fail to provide an effective opposition within the Lesotho parliament. In the 17 February 2007 parliamentary election, the party won only 3 out of 120 seats.