Lesotho citizens voted in a parliamentary election on Friday that political analysts said could see the ruling party lose power after years of political instability that the southern African mountain kingdom's lawmakers have failed to resolve.

The election has gone ahead despite a deadlock in parliament on a whole gamut of major constitutional reforms that were meant to be enacted ahead of the vote in order to bring order to Lesotho's fractious politics.

The All Basotho Convention (ABC) has run the country of 2.14 million people since 2017, but divisions within the party have given it two prime ministers over five years.

Defections have left the party vulnerable to its opposition rivals, the Democratic Congress (DC), and the upstart Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) which is led by millionaire diamond magnate Sam Matekane.

"The future of Basotho (the people of Lesotho) is in their hands. RFP is ready to govern," Matekane said while casting a vote in his hometown of Mantsonyane.

"We await eagerly (to find out) who they want to lead them."

Speaking to pressmen before polls opened, Lesotho political analyst Lefu Thaela said he thought the ruling ABC would lose the elections and that "the DC and RFP will be neck-and-neck".