Togo promised 'stability'
2005-03-08 14:25
Paris - Would-be Togolese strongman Faure Gnassingbe pledged on Tuesday to strengthen the rule of law in the country if he wins the presidential election that international pressure forced him to call after the army tried to put him straight into his late father's shoes.
In an interview with the Paris daily France-Soir, Gnassingbe said his father, the dictatorial Gnassingbe Eyadema, had bequeathed "stability and security" when his rule of more than 37 years ended with his death on February 5.
"If I am elected, I will try to enrich this in the domain of public freedoms and justice," he said.
Gnassingbe, 39, protested that he was a "democrat" and denied that last month's military powerplay, which saw him declared president after parliament changed the constitution to install him in office, was a coup.
"I would do the same thing again," he said, claiming that panic had followed his father's death and the essential thing was "maintain calm and institutional integrity".
If elected on April 24 he would work for national reconciliation, and would have no problems with forming a government that included members of the opposition.
He would not try to "hang on to power for power's sake", he added.
Gnassingbe also said he wanted to maintain links with former colonial power France, and the 4 000 French citizens living in Togo had no need for concern.
After three weeks of international pressure and isolation, including suspension from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), Gnassingbe resigned as president on February 25.
He will stand as the ruling party candidate in the April 24 poll and is the clear favourite to win against a fragmented opposition.