Page 38 - OSISA Annual Report 2015-2018

Democracy and Governance
Inclusive participation
Dialogue among warring parties in Lesotho
Lesotho’s political and security situation remains fragile and problematic, with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) putting the country on its agenda in April 2018. As part of its resolutions, SADC affirmed the regional body’s commitment to a peaceful resolution of Lesotho’s political crisis. SADC also endorsed the continuation of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s mandate as SADC’s chief facilitator of the democratic reforms in Lesotho.
OSISA programming in Lesotho has pursued the goal of supporting the reform process to be inclusive, participatory and non-elitist. Reforms provide an opportunity for Basotho to start afresh lest the Kingdom becomes a failed state. These political, constitutional, judicial and security reforms also include pushing for the media space’s democratisation and charting a new democratic path anchored on constitutional order and respect for fundamental freedoms.
Through OSISA support, the Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL) continues to play its convening role to foster dialogue among warring parties for a peaceful resolution of Lesotho’s political crisis. So far, CCL, through the National Political Leaders Forum, has facilitated three meetings and seen the return of 23 military commanders who had gone into exile. To help with their integration into society, CCL provides counselling services for the commanders, an intervention the ministry of defence has endorsed and supports.
OSISA has also worked with the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA Lesotho) to use its leadership in
media and freedom of expression advocacy to ensure media reforms do not fall off the radar of the SADC facilitated reform agenda. This work has seen intensive campaigns in Lesotho for the repeal of repressive media laws and practices and their replacement with democratic media and freedom of expression laws.
In the 2017 Lesotho elections, OSISA supported the Lesotho Council of NGOs’ deployment of 350 short-term domestic observers and 40 journalists as part of MISA Lesotho’s media monitoring and elections reporting project. As acknowledged by regional and international observers, such as the Commonwealth, the African Union and SADC, these two projects contributed towards the improved integrity of the highly contested elections.
OSISA’s partner the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) is at the heart of negotiations in DRC
Uncertainty remained on the capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission(CENI) and Congolese government to hold elections by 23 December 2018. OSISA’s partner CENCO, a local assembly of bishops, played a prominent role in pushing for credible, free, transparent and peaceful elections. The demonstrations in 2018 organised by the Lay Coordinating Committee (a structure of the Catholic Church) were violently repressed, causing at least five deaths and leaving 33 wounded. OSISA worked to build the capacity of CSOs in electoral monitoring by supporting training, technical analysis, monitoring of resources allocated to electoral kits and advocacy for access to information during the electoral process. In addition, the programme supported the CENCO initiative in continental and international advocacy for holding elections in a peaceful atmosphere, taking into account the agreement of 31 December 2016, which was negotiated by CENCO and signed by major political parties.
Responding to the coup in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s political and economic governance crisis escalated following the military takeover of state institutions through a coup that took place on November 14/15, 2017. While OSISA was already supporting civil
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OPEN SOCIETY INITIATIVE FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA – 2018 REPORT