Togo names new prime minister
2007-12-04 07:23
Lome - Togo's city and urbanisation minister, Komlan Mally, has been named the west African country's prime minister by presidential decree, the government has announced.
Mally, 47, a member of the ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) party and a relative unknown in Togo, succeeded Yawovi Agboyibo, a major opposition figure who quit on November 13.
His nomination was delayed by the formation of the government as President Faure Gnassingbe negotiated with the main opposition party in order to pick his new national unity cabinet.
Gnassingbe held an historic meeting last month on the future prime minister appointment with long-exiled opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio - both of whose fathers were previous leaders of Togo.
Parliamentary elections in October were won by Gnassingbe's RPT, which took 50 of the 81 seats.
For the first time in 17 years all the opposition parties took part in the election, including Olympio's Union of Forces for Change (UFC), which took 27 seats.
Officials from the main opposition parties called Mally's appointment "a good choice".