Nearly three years ago in May 2012, the Kingdom of Lesotho went for general elections following yet another successful SADC-initiated dialogue to end a political crisis in the country.
The much-anticipated elections were won by the then ruling Democratic Congress (DC) party led by former Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.
However, the DC failed to garner enough votes to form a government.
In light of this, the main opposition party, the All Basotho Convention (ABC) headed by the incumbent Prime Minister Thomas Thabane forged an alliance with the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) and the Basotho National Party (BNP) to form the next government.
Expectations were high that the three-party coalition government would bring lasting stability to a country that has a long history of political instability, dating back to the time when it attained its independence in October 1966.
Fast-forward to the present.
Basotho are once again in the same mood, eagerly awaiting general election scheduled for 28 February to choose a new government and return the country to stability.
The election was rescheduled from its original date of 2017 in a bid to end the instability that had once more plunged the country following a crisis allegedly triggered by Thabane in June 2014, who after facing a vote of no-confidence, suspended parliament.
What followed was an alleged coup plot by renegade members of the Lesotho military on 30 August.