Under-fire Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane announced Thursday that he will resign at the end of May, ending weeks of tension that has threatened political stability in the kingdom.
Thabane said in a live broadcast that he would be leaving office by May 31 following the gazetting of a constitutional amendment that provides for his retirement.
The premier had previously stated that he would retire at the end of July.
Thursday’s announcement came in the wake of the adoption of a constitutional amendment by the country’s senate a few weeks ago to limit the premier’s powers to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections.
The amendment has the effect of requiring the prime minister to obtain the consent of the majority of parliamentarians before proposing to the king to dissolve parliament or organize fresh elections in the event that deputies pass a vote of no confidence against him.
Thabane has in recent weeks resisted pressure from parliament and his own party to leave office immediately following an ongoing court case in which he is being charged with conniving with his current wife to murder his previous wife in 2017.
The prime minister has been indicted in the murder of his ex-wife, Liopelo, who was shot multiple times in June 2017, days before his inauguration for a second term. He is jointly charged with his current wife, Maesaiah.
JN/APA