POLITICS-TOGO:
Opposition Defies Official Poll Results
Noel Kokou Tadegnon*
LOME, Apr 27 (IPS) - Emmanuel Akitani-Bob, an opposition candidate in the
presidential election held Sunday in Togo, declared himself winner of the
poll Wednesday. This came a day after the National Independent Electoral
Commission (CENI) announced that Faure Gnassingbe, son of deceased head of
state Gnassingbe Eyadema, was the provisional winner.
Tuesday's announcement was greeted with outrage by opposition supporters,
who erected barricades and burned tires in the Togolese capital, Lome, to
protest the outcome of the poll.
Although police responded by firing teargas and attempting to dismantle
the barricades, this only served to spur on the supporters. "We're going to
put up even more barricades, and make this country ungovernable," Celestin
Soke, a 28-year-old apprentice tailor, told IPS.
Similar scenes could be viewed in the city Wednesday, when fresh protests
broke out. A dozen demonstrators are said to have been killed by gunfire,
while several others were injured.
Thousands of Gnassingbe supporters also demonstrated in the capital, many
arriving by bus from northern Togo, a Gnassingbe stronghold, armed with
clubs and machetes.
According to CENI Chairperson Kissem Tchangai Walla, Gnassingbe garnered
60.22 percent of the vote, and Akitani-Bob 38.19 percent.
Harry Olympio, considered a more moderate opposition candidate, won 0.55
percent of the vote - in which almost two-thirds of those eligible to cast
ballots did so. However, the commission noted that the count did not reflect
votes placed in ballot boxes that had been destroyed by demonstrators.
"I'm very happy about the outcome," Komi Selom Klassou, director of
Gnassingbe's campaign, told journalists. "The president said that his
victory would be a victory for all the Togolese people. You can be sure that
he plans to reach out to all citizens in order to build a stable Togo."
For its part, the opposition swiftly claimed that "massive fraud" had
taken place, not only during the election itself, but also in the
verification of voter lists, and the distribution of voting cards.
Youths who gathered in the streets could be heard chanting "They stole
our victory."
Concerns about these matters had led Akitani-Bob, Olympio and another
presidential candidate, Nicolas Lawson, to call for a postponement of the
vote, (Lawson later withdrew from the race). Interior Minister Francois Boko
called for the poll to be suspended - an appeal which resulted in him being
sacked. The minister is since reported to have taken refuge in the German
embassy.
The electoral campaign was also punctuated by incidents of violence, with
rival militants clashing in several neighborhoods of the capital over the
weekend of Apr. 16-17. Six ruling party members and one opposition supporter
are said to have died in these incidents.
"We refuse to accept that for the umpteenth time, they are stealing the
election out from under us," Jean Pierre Fabre, general secretary of the
Union of Forces of Change (UFC), told IPS. This group forms part of a
six-party coalition represented at the polls by Akitani-Bob.
UFC is also the party of exiled opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio, a
long-time opponent of Eyadema until the latter's death in February this
year.
Gnassingbe took over as head of state after his father's death with the
support of Togo's military - but agreed to hold elections after global
leaders denounced the move as unconstitutional. He stood as the candidate
for the ruling Rally of the Togolese People.
Many Togolese opponents of Gnassingbe, who came across the border from
Ghana and now occupy part of the capital, are calling for mass resistance to
the new regime. The opposition is also calling on its supporters to
"mobilize, and resist" the government.
Cheick Oumar Diarra, assistant executive secretary of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which deployed 150 election
observers to Togo, said that several irregularities had been noted in
Sunday's poll. However, these were not sufficiently serious to cast doubt on
the election's credibility.
Adote Ghandi Akwe, president of the Togolese League for Human Rights,
disagreed with this assessment - citing the absence of monitors during vote
counting. This, he noted, was in violation of electoral law.
Another non-governmental organisation, Initiative 150, issued a statement
claiming that numerous attempts had been made to stuff ballot boxes in
polling stations where opposition representatives were denied access.
"After the election, hooded militiamen grabbed away ballot boxes by
force, which, according to law, are supposed to be opened in public," the
group added.
Gnassingbe has said he intends forming a government of national unity to
calm the situation in Togo.
However, Gilchrist Olympio rejected this offer, describing Sunday's poll
as a "charade". Instead, he is calling for a revision of Togolese law to
allow for fresh elections within the next two years.
Attacks against French expatriates in Lome have also been reported. Many
Togolese believe France played a key part in helping Eyadema hold on to
power for 38 years, (the former leader seized control of the country during
a 1967 coup).
In addition, more than 1,000 Togolese fleeing violence caused by the
contested election
sought refuge Tuesday in Benin, according to the mayor's office in the
border town of Grand-Popo, contacted by IPS Wednesday.
* With additional reporting by Ali Idrissou-Toure in Cotonou
(END/2005)
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