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President Faure Gnassingbe |
Togo President Faure Gnassingbe’s party won most seats in
parliamentary elections, according to provisional results on Monday, in
polls overshadowed by pre-ballot clashes and an opposition boycott.
But the party will need support from other legislators to secure a
fourth-fifths majority for constitutional change giving Gnassingbe the
chance of staying in power beyond 2020.
His Union for the Republic (UNIR) won 59 of the 91 National Assembly
seats in the December 20 legislative polls, the provisional results
said.
The closely-watched election in the small West African state saw the
14-party opposition coalition, C-14, refuse to take part, condemning the
playing field as skewed.
“The coalition and the people have rejected any notion of elections
in the prevailing conditions,” Nathaniel Olympio, head of the Party of
the Togolese, told AFP.
“The results don’t correspond to the wishes of the Togolese who
didn’t take part,” he added. “The struggle continues and will get even
tougher after these elections.”
The provisional figures will now head to the Constitutional Court,
which will have a week to proclaim definitive results after discussing
any challenges.
The vote went ahead last Thursday after a year of political upheaval
which saw demonstrators demanding Gnassingbe step down during dozens of
marches, sometimes with a large turnout.
– Backdrop of bloodshed –
Gnassingbe has been in power since 2005 after succeeding his father,
General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled the country with an iron fist for
38 years.
Earlier this month, at least four people were killed when opposition
supporters and security forces clashed in the capital Lome and several
other cities. The opposition put the figure at six dead.
UNIR previously held 62 seats and had hoped to
secure 73, the threshold for passing laws unchallenged, including
changes to the constitution paving the way for Gnassingbe to run for
office in 2020 and 2025.
The ruling party’s 59 seats were thus below its target but it will be
supported by its main ally, the Union of Change Forces (UFC) of former
opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio, who has six MPs. Other independent
MPs can also lend support.
A total of 850 candidates for 12 political parties, plus independents, took part in the election.
The official turnout was about 60 percent of registered voters.
Before the vote, opposition parties had called for an overhaul of the
electoral commission, more transparency and constitutional reforms to
limit the number of presidential terms.
Observers from the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS) said the election had been held properly.
From the Nigerian capital Abuja, regional leaders on Saturday
commended the “free and transparent” nature of the vote, which
corresponded with their roadmap to end crisis in Togo.
But they added they “strongly regretted” the opposition’s boycott,
which took place “in spite of the considerable efforts made by
facilitators to promote inclusive elections.”
ECOWAS, through mediators Ghana and Guinea, had pushed for elections to be held by the year’s end.
But the recommendation was dismissed by the opposition as rushed,
failing in particular to address flaws in the electoral commission.
“ECOWAS made a mistake of not appreciating the socio-political
situation in Togo and prescribed elections instead of reforms,” said
Raphael Kpande-Adzare, spokesman for the FCTD, an umbrella organisation
of civil society groups.
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