Cabinet has reaffirmed its commitment to work with the newly elected Lesotho administration to further strengthen relations.

Briefing the media after a regular Cabinet meeting, Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Collins Chabane, said the peaceful vote and transition was evidence of a maturing democracy in Lesotho.

Opposition leader Tom Thabane has been named as Prime Minister after the May polls saw the ruling party defeated. The appointment of Thabane, a former foreign minister, came after outgoing Premier Pakalitha Mosisili accepted defeat.

Meanwhile, Cabinet also noted that in preparation for the African Union (AU) Summit, in July 2012, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Summit reaffirmed the candidature of the Minister of Home Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, for the position of AU Commission Chairperson.

Dlamini Zuma will be up against the current chair Jean Ping for the top post. Chabane said the SADC leadership was of the view that there was a need to strengthen the AU to better position the continental body for the multitude of opportunities and challenges facing Africa.

"The election of the AU chairperson highlights the need to strengthen the Commission, the entire AU and how Africa relates to the external world as a continent, with a view to achieving our goal of a truly independent Africa."

If elected, Minister Dlamini Zuma will become the first woman since the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 to serve as chairperson.