Briefing Paper

Local Government and Democracy in Lesotho

“This briefing, describing changes in democratic attitudes in Lesotho, is based on a survey of 1,161 Basotho who are 18 years of age or older, administered between 6 July 2005 and 17 August 2005. The survey was conducted in 145 villages, in census enumeration areas selected by a random process proportional to population, with the help of Lesotho’s Bureau of Statistics. Every district was represented in proportion to its population. A precise method was developed for finding random households within
each village. Men and women were selected in alternation in successive households, so that in the end the sample consisted of 580 men and 581 women. This report will examine mass attitudes to local government and, where relevant, show their relation to answers on other political and social issues.”