Foreign observers on Monday described Lesotho's weekend election as "largely peaceful" despite the shock deployment of armed soldiers at polling stations on voting day.

Counting was underway on Monday in the restive mountain kingdom, which has been rocked by attempted coups and instability in recent years.

Regional observers said the snap polls were "largely peaceful" but called for post-election reforms to bring stability to a country hit by chronic political infighting and suffering from weak government institutions.

The former Mozambican president who headed a team of African Union observers Joaquim says

"Elections alone cannot address the underlying political and structural challenges facing the country.

He called for parliamentary and judicial reforms as well as a change in the role of the security forces.