Basutoland Congress Party

The Basutoland Congress Party is a pan-Africanist and left-wingpolitical party in Lesotho.

The Basutoland African Congress (BAC) was founded in 1952 by Ntsu Mokhehle and Potlako Leballo. The party was renamed the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) in 1957 and retained this name after independence in 1966, stating that Lesotho was not truly independent. Leballo left the party in 1959 to form the Pan Africanist Congress of South Africa (PAC).

The BCP lost the 1965 election relying on the party that it was the oldest and had following instead of campaigning in rural areas, reaching the grass wood level.They only focused on the urban areas where most of its executive members were based hence they lost support from their rural areas, but won in 1970. It was denied power by a coup d'état in support of the defeated prime ministerLeabua Jonathan.^[1]

In 1974, following an unsuccessful rising, the BCP sent 178 men for military training by the PAC in Gaddafi's Libya. In 1979 they began a guerrilla war as the Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA).

The party won a landslide victory at the 1993 general election, and its leader Ntsu Mokhehle became prime minister. Mokhehle left the party in 1997 with his faction to form the Lesotho Congress for Democracy. The BCP was led by Tseliso Makhakhe, Qhobela Molapo, Ntsukunyane Mphanya and (currently) Thulo Mahlakeng.

At the 25 May 2002 general election, the party won 2.6% of the vote and 3 out of 120 seats.^[2]