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Sub Saharan Africa
Togo |
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Country information
POLITICS
Until the early 1990s Togo was a one party state. However in 1990, opponents to Eyadema's rule, encouraged by international events, openly contested his rule. This led to the convening of a 'National Forum' in June 1991. The opposition, who dominated the Forum, declared it a sovereign national conference. Eyadema was forced to accept a new government which emerged from this conference in August 1991. A new constitution, which was eventually passed by referendum in September 1991, officially brought to an end Eyadema's one party state, and paved the way for Presidential elections and elections to the 81-seat unicameral legislature in 1993 and 1994 respectively.
However, during the long and extremely tense transition the opposition were divided as to whether and how far to cooperate with Eyadema. The elections of 1993 were boycotted by the main opposition parties, who cited concerns about fraud. The main opposition candidate, Gilchrist Olympio, was barred from standing. Eyadema was elected with over 96% of the vote. Although the opposition fared well in the legislative elections in February 1994, Eyadema had effectively won the prolonged transitional struggle. Over the next 11 years the situation fluctuated between periods of relative openness, characterised by negotiations between the government and the opposition, and periods of tension, generally around contested electoral processes.
On 4 February 2005 Eyadema died. The military took over and installed Eyadema's son Faure Gnassingbe in power. After protests from the African Union and the regional body ECOWAS, Gnassingbe stood down. However he retained considerable power over the transition. Presidential elections took place in April, with the main opposition candidate Olympio once again barred from standing. Although the elections were marred by widespread violence, Gnassingbe was declared the winner with 60.1%, against Bob-Akitani (candidate of Olympio's UFC) who scored 38.3%. The African Union and ECOWAS accepted this result and urged Gnassingbe to include members of the opposition in the new government. Opposition leader Yawovi Agboyibo became Prime Minister in September 2006. The interparty dialogue process was re-launched in November 2005, culminating in successful talks in Burkina Faso during the summer of 2006. Legislative elections were held on 14 October 2008. The President’s party, the RTP, won 50 of the 81 seats. The opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio contested the credibility of the results, but observers, including the 94 strong EU observation team, pronounced themselves satisfied. A new government was formed in November led by the RTP politician Kolam Mally. Opposition parties are not represented in the new government.
BBC News: Africa
HUMAN RIGHTS
Togo's Human Rights record under Eyadema was appalling, as documented in dozens of reports from international organisations and NGOs. The security forces, especially the army, which is largely staffed with Eyadema loyalists from the north, were responsible for most of the abuses. There are current concerns over violence around the April 2005 elections, which have resulted in around 30,000 Togolese seeking refugee in neighbouring Ghana and Benin. The UN has appointed a special rapporteur to enquire into these events, with whom the new Togolese government has cooperated well. On 17 December 2007, Prime Minister Mally announced that he intended to set up a commission to look at past instances of political violence.
Amnesty International (AI)
Human Rights Report
