After almost a month after the training Lesotho Council of NGOs will dispatch a team of about 600 electoral educators countrywide to persuade Basotho to flood the polls in the upcoming local government elections envisaged for October 1st 2011.

The electoral education had initially envisaged to commence beginning of June 2011 had not started because the funds had to not reached LCN. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) are the funding partner in the campaign. The delay came about the IEC having to follow due procurement process of the Government in order be given funds for this campaign. IEC had to then engage the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning on the way forward. Though the IEC were finally given green light the conditions with which the ministry had granted them impacted on the original agreement with LCN. It was then at this time that LCN consulted its constituency of member NGOs who after long deliberations resolved that what is important is that Basotho contribute to the vibrancy of this democracy by going to the polls.

It is at this point that though the terms of the agreement are no longer in their original form, the civil society still nonetheless committed to undertaking its mandate of conducting the electoral campaign.

LCN and IEC during the signing of the MoU on electoral education during a press conference-The Director of Elections Mr. Mphasa Mokhochane and the LCN executive Director Mrs. 'Mabulara Tsuene signed on behalf of the two institutions respectively

The electoral education is now expected to be conducted over the remaining two months just before the date of the elections as announced by IEC. LCN and IEC believe that collaboration between them is necessary to effectively deal with reversing the voter apathy, enhancing of democracy, civil duty and responsibility and to further encourage voter registration by encouraging people to turn out in huge numbers in order to cast the elections respectively. The agreement is also in recognition of civil society expertise and capacity to conduct various forms of civic education operating at different geographic parts of Lesotho at the same time focusing on different sectors of society.

To further ensure effective and efficient entrenchment of the message to the public the LCN will deploy atleast seven voter educators per community council who will be residing in the village (especially in the remote places of the country) from the beginning of the campaign until the envisaged local government elections to take place on the 1st October 2011; in other words by the time elections arrive the process of elections will still be fresh in the voters minds inevitably igniting the interest to go and vote.

The electoral education troops are expected to commence work beginning of August 2011.