Maseru, Lesotho - Turnout was brisk in a morning of voting in parliamentary elections in the southern African kingdom of Lesotho, where the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) faces
a stiff challenge from a new party popular with younger voters.
Long queues formed in the sun outside polling stations in the capital Maseru and in rural areas after polls opened at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT).
"The turnout has been good so far, very good," Khotatso Ralitsie, Director of Elections at the Independent Electoral Commission, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa around lunchtime after having visited several polling stations in rural areas.
No exact figures for turnout so far were available.
There had been minor "hiccups" at polling stations, with some people unable to find their preferred party on the party list and some materials, such as ink, arriving late, Ralitsie said.
These are the fourth elections in Lesotho since independence and the second to use the Mixed Member Representation electoral system, which sees 80 MPs out of the 120-member parliament chosen from constituency lists in a "first past the post system" and the remaining 40 from a party list using proportional representation.
The system first used in 2002 general elections aims to provide greater representation for smaller political parties but the two biggest parties - the LCD and the ABC - are not on the party list,
creating some confusion among voters.
To maximise their final tally the LCD and the ABC are urging their supporters to tick the box of their allies - the National Independent Party and the Lesotho Workers Party respectively.
The election is expected to be a closely-fought race between the LCD and the ABC formed by former communications minister Thomas Thabane late last year after he crossed the floor with 16 fellow
deputies to the opposition benches citing disillusionment with the LCD.
Some 920,000 people out of a population of about 1.8 million people were registered to vote in 80 constituencies in 10 districts. A total of 19 parties are contesting the poll.
A strong turnout is thought likely to favour the ABC, which is popular with younger voters disillusioned with the development issues dogging the country.
"I could be in trouble," admitted Selomi Monyane, an elderly LCD deputy, who is seeking reelection in Peka constituency.
Thabane has promised a more efficient use of resources to fight poverty, food insecurity, raise pensions and develop infrastructure.
At LEC Primary School north of Maseru near Teyateyaneng 26-year-old Bakuena Korie told dpa he had voted for the first time Saturday - for the ABC.
"We need a change," he said, adding he had urged other young friends to cast a vote.
The third-largest contender is the Basotho National Party, previously the official opposition party that has been relegated to possible coalition partner status by the emergence of the ABC.
The poll is being monitored by dozens of election observers from from the US, the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and various EU diplomatic missions.
Lesotho, one of the world's poorest countries, has a tumultous reputation when it comes to elections. More than 60 people were killed and large parts of the capital Maseru razed to the ground in rioting following disputed 1998 elections, leading to the intervention of troops from South Africa and Botswana.
