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Togo
At stake: President
Background
Togo achieved its independence from France in 1960. The African nation picked Sylvanus Olympio as its first president one year later. In 1963, Olympio was assassinated in a coup and replaced by Nicolas Grunitzky.
In 1967, head of the armed forces Gnassingbé Eyadema took power. Eyadema would remain as the country’s head of state for more than three decades.
In 1991, following widespread demonstrations, the president amended the constitution and allowed multi-party elections. Two years later, the European Union (EU) stopped all aid to Togo over the country’s poor democratic and human rights records. The 1998 elections—which saw many protests within the country—were deemed as a farce by international observers.
Eyadema—representing the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT)—won a new five-year term in the June 2003 presidential election. In February 2005, Eyadema died of a heart attack at the age of 69 while being flown to France for emergency medical treatment. The Togolese military announced one of the late president’s sons, Faure Gnassingbé, would be taking over as head of state.
In April 2005, Gnassingbé earned a five-year term as president with 60.22 per cent of the vote.
Click here for Togo’s 2005 Presidential Election Tracker
In August 2006, the governing RPT participated in negotiations with other political parties, aimed at ending a decade-long political stalemate and securing assistance from foreign donors.
In a joint statement, the country’s political organizations acknowledged that, "Impunity and political violence are a serious phenomena of the times in Togo, especially during electoral operations" and established a commission to investigate all past instances of political violence. The accord also banned the army and security forces from "interfering in the political dialogue."
In September, Yawovi Agboyibo of the opposition Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) became Togo’s new prime minister. Agboyibo is a former president of the country’s Human Rights Commission.
In December, the EU announced that it would provide $6.6 million U.S. to Togo in aid for the country’s legislative election. In the 2002 legislative ballot, the governing Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) secured 72 of the 81 seats at stake.
In September 2007, Togo enacted a new Constitutional Court.
A legislative election scheduled took place in October 2007 after being postponed several times due to financial and logistical problems. Opposition parties referred to the process as "trouble-free", and international observers said the election had been "free and fair." Final results released gave the RPT 50 of the 81 seats at stake, followed by the Union of Forces for Change (UFC) with 27, and the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) with four. Turnout was tabled at 94.8 per cent.
Agboyibo tendered his resignation as prime minister. In December, RPT member Komlan Mally became prime minister.
Click here for Togo’s 2007 Legislative Election Tracker
In September 2008, Mally stepped down as prime minister of Togo. The president’s office thanked Mally for his service, saying he had fulfilled the goal of improving Togo’s relations with the international community, and accepted his resignation. Gilbert Houngbo, a professional accountant and former United Nations (UN) official, was appointed to replace Mally. The government called him a "man of consensus." Houngbo appointed Mally as the country’s health minister.
2010 Presidential Election
Togolese citizens are called to the ballot box on Mar. 4, 2010, to elect a new president.
Faure Gnassingbé has been Togo’s president since 2005. He was appointed to replace his father, Gnassingbé Eyadema, who died that same year. Eyadema had been Togo’s president since taking power in a coup in 1967 as head of the armed forces. He later won the April 2005 presidential election.
Gnassingbé is seeking re-election. In late 2009, Gilchrist Olympio of the opposition Union of the Forces of Change (UFC) was regarded as his main challenger. Olympio is calling for a change in existing regulations that would implement a run-off between the top two vote-getters if no candidate surpasses the 50 per cent mark. On Dec. 6, Olympio said his UFC party will boycott the election if the two-round system is not implemented, adding, "If the UFC does not participate, there will be no election in Togo."
Due to Olympio’s health problems, Jean-Pierre Fabre, the UFC’s secretary-general, was selected as a presidential candidate. Other contenders include former prime minister Yawovi Agboyibo of the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR), former prime minister Messan Agbéyomé Kodjo of the Organisation for Building Togo in Unity and Solidarity (OBUTS), lone woman candidate Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson of the Democratic Convention of African Peoples (CDPA), businessman Nicolas Lawson of the Party for Renewal and Redemption (PRR), and Bassabi Kagbara of the Pan-African Democratic Party (PDP).
In September 2009, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) swore in 17 members. They include members of the ruling RPT, members of the opposition, representatives of the so-called extra-parliamentary opposition, non-political members, and a representative of the current administration. The election will be the first to be carried by an electoral body. Previous ballots have been organized by Togo’s Interior Ministry.
On Oct. 14, Issifou Tabiou Taffa—who is not affiliated with any political party—was elected as CENI’s president, following a controversy over who would be fit to preside over the electoral body.
On Dec. 23, the European Union (EU) committed close to $13 million U.S. to the implementation of "free, just, transparent and peaceful elections, in line with international standards."
On Jan. 8, 2010, a bus transporting Togo’s national football team was attacked by gunmen in Angola, as the players were on their way to participate in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. A Portuguese news agency reported that an offshoot of the separatist group Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) claimed responsibility for the attack.
The bus driver, the team’s assistant manager Abalo Amelete, and media officer Stanislas Ocloo were killed. Several players were injured.
On Jan. 9, university professor Bassabi Kagbara was nominated as the candidate for the Pan-African Democratic Party (PDP).
On Jan. 10, the CDPA officially chose Adjamagbo-Johnson as its presidential candidate. Adjamagbo-Johnson is the first woman to run for president in Togo. Accepting her nomination, she declared: "By choosing a woman, the CPDA wants to offer Togolese men and women an alternative to turn the page on more than 50 years of incomprehension, grudges and violence."
On Feb. 15, Agboyibo and Adjamagbo-Johnson suspended their campaign activities alleging anomalies. Adjamagbo-Johnson declared: "We find that key issues remain unresolved, including the correction of discrepancies cited during a review of electoral rolls, the adoption of measures to ensure traceability of ballots and authentification of voters’ ballots."
President Gnassingbé did not formally announce his candidacy until after the RPT’s convention on Jan. 12. At the meeting, party members nominated the president—who was not in attendance—as their official candidate. Through a spokesperson, Gnassingbé accepted the nomination, saying he would follow "the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Togolese."
On Mar. 2, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued a statement, urging "all the stakeholders to continue to put the interest of their country over and above all partisan interests and to contribute to the successful conduct of a peaceful, credible and transparent election."
Voting took place on Mar. 4. Preliminary reports suggested that election day went on peacefully and with few problems.
On Mar. 6, provisional results released by CENI placed Gnassingbé as the winner of the presidential election, with 60.9 per cent of the vote.
Fabre was second with 33.9 per cent.
Fabre rejected the results, adding, "The ruling party told our supporters that when they put their fingerprint on the ballot, they’re going to be able to come and find them. They gave money to buy people’s consciences, there is fraud on a massive scale, we have the proof in our possession."
Final results gave Gnassingbé the victory with 60.9 per cent of the vote.
Political Players
President: Faure Gnassingbé - RPT
Prime minister: Gilbert Houngbo
The president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term.
Legislative Branch: The Assemblée Nationale (National Assembly) has 81 members, elected to five-year terms in single-seat constituencies.
Results of Last Election:
President - Mar. 4, 2010
|
Vote% |
|
|
Faure Gnassingbé - Rally for the Togolese People |
60.9% |
|
Jean-Pierre Fabre - Union of Forces for Change |
33.9% |
|
Yawovi Agboyibo - Action Committee for Renewal |
3.0% |
|
Agbéyomé Kodjo - Organization for the Construction of a United Togo |
0.9% |
|
Brigitte Adjamagbo-Johnson - Democratic Convention of African Peoples |
0.7% |
|
Bassabi Kagbara - Pan-African Democratic Party |
0.4% |
|
Nicolas Lawson - Party for Renewal and Redemption |
0.3% |
National Assembly - Oct. 14, 2007
|
|
Seats |
|
Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais (RPT) |
50 |
|
Union of Forces for Change (UFC) |
27 |
|
Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) |
4 |
