Deputy President and Southern African Development Community (SADC) facilitator, Cyril Ramaphosa, has welcomed the recent deployment of an Electoral Advisory Council to Maseru, Lesotho, as part of preparations for the forthcoming elections.

Ramaphosa said the arrival of the SADC Electoral Advisory Council will “add impetus to current preparations and efforts by the Lesotho Electoral Commission to deliver credible, free and fair elections in which the people of Lesotho can express their democratic will as part of efforts to restore peace and stability in their country”.

The neighbouring mountain kingdom is going to the polls on 28 February 2015 - after the signing of the Maseru Facilitation Accord by all Lesotho's political parties and as facilitated by Ramaphosa.

The decision to hold early elections arose from decisions by a summit of the SADC held last year with a view to help return Lesotho political normalcy and stabilisation of the security situation following an abortive coup in Lesotho in August.

SADC then appointed Ramaphosa to facilitate talks and create a climate conducive for elections.

Lesotho has been in political turmoil since June when Lesotho's Prime Minister Tom Thabane suspended Parliament to avoid a vote of no confidence that was being pushed by his coalition government partners.

Ramaphosa has reiterated that preparations for the holding of a free and fair election in Lesotho remains on course and continue unabated.

This, despite Sunday’s attack on two bodyguards of Thabane, who were gun-wounded and an innocent citizen killed in the crossfire.

The two men tasked with protecting Thabane were shot without the prime minister in sight at the time. It was believed that the two former soldiers were shot because they betrayed their own men in the planned August 2014 coup.

They were believed to have helped Thabane dodge the coup when Lesotho military force attacked the prime minister's residence.