SA has much to lose too if Lesotho polls go awry

Lesotho holds elections tomorrow and the stakes could not be higher.

About a million of the mountain kingdom's citizens will go to the polls in highly contested polls following the dramatic collapse of the country's coalition government late last year.

Security fears are mounting ahead of the vote and scores of police from South Africa and neighbouring countries - operating under the mandate of the Southern African Development Community - are in Lesotho to keep the peace.

Former Independent Electoral Commission chairman Pansy Tlakula - in Lesotho as the special rapporteur for the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights - has expressed concerns about continuing tensions, despite assurances from all the parties that they will abide by the outcome.

South Africa and the SADC have played a vital role in ensuring relative stability in Lesotho since the wheels came off last year.

Prime Minister Tom Thabane dissolved the country's parliament in June ahead of a vote of no confidence in him. He fled to South Africa in September after firing the army chief, Lieutenant-General Tlali Kamoli. The general then took to the mountains as troops shut down the judiciary, raided police stations for weapons and stormed Thabane's residence.

The call for the no confidence vote in Thabane was made after he asked for an investigation into the activities of his deputy, Mothetjoa Metsing, leader of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy party, whom he accused of corruption.

The sublime negotiating skills of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa were put to the test as he sought a way to remove Kamoli as a threat and pave the way for this weekend's elections.

The SADC security presence will almost certainly save the election but a poll that is too close to call will require calm heads and compromise if confrontation is to be avoided and, no doubt, more of Ramaphosa.

South Africa needs a stable Lesotho - not least because it is the source of much of our precious water.