MASERU, Jan 31, 2008 (AFP) - Lesotho opposition leader Tom Thabane gave his backing Thursday to a bid by ex-Botswana premier Ketimule Masire to mediate an end to a standoff with the government in the troubled African mountain kingdom.

Masire is due to hold talks with government and opposition figures next month in his second trip to Lesotho since the country was plunged into crisis by a dispute over the allocation of seats following elections last February.

Thabane, leader of the the All Basotho Convention (ABC), said he was ready to meet with Masire, who has been tasked with mediating by the 14-nation Southern African Development Community, during his visit from February 6 to 9.

'It would be very foolish of us not to have trust in him because he is mandated by SADC which has done a great job in other countries,' Thabane told AFP.

Thabane questioned the legitimacy of the current parliament in the capital Maseru, saying some seats were illegally occupied by allies of the governing Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD).

'Are we a legitimate parliament if some people are occupying seats which do not belong to them?'

While Thabane is not disputing that the LCD won most seats, he has argued that the system under which a third of the seats should be distributed to smaller parties through proportional representation had been abused.

Under Lesotho's electoral system, 80 lawmakers are elected in constituencies and another 40 are chosen by proportional representation.

The dispute has poisoned the atmosphere in the tiny landlocked kingdom which has seen several mass protests and shooting attacks on senior political figures from both sides of the political divide.

In 1998, an election dispute resulted in widespread violence in Lesotho during which large parts of Maseru were torched, and was only quashed with the intervention of troops from Botswana and its giant neighbour South Africa.

Thabane revealed that he had talks with Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili last Thursday to discuss the security situation.

When contacted, government spokesm Mothetjoa Metsing refused to comment.