Togo sets election date
2005-03-04 08:53
Lome - Togo's electoral commission on Thursday set a presidential vote for April 24, but opposition groups in the West African state said such short notice was unfair.
"In conformity with the electoral law, CENI (THE independent electoral commission) has set April 24 as the date for the presidential election," commission president Kissem Tchangai-Walla said.
The way for an election was cleared after Faure Gnassingbe, the son of Togo's late president Gnassingbe Eyadema, stepped down last week under pressure from African leaders.
Gnassingbe had been installed by the military and by parliamentary loyalists following his father's death on February 5, sparking a political crisis.
Tchangai-Walla, who was appointed to the office only on Tuesday, said candidates would have to register by March 26. Campaigning will take place from April 8 to 22, she said.
The 39-year-old Gnassingbe is now running for the presidency as the candidate of the Rally for the Togolese People, the ruling party founded by his father, Togo's autocratic leader for more than 30 years.
A leader of the main opposition party said it was impossible to organise a fair vote in less than eight weeks.
"It's surrealistic. I don't think it's possible to organise a transparent and honest election in that period," said Jean Pierre Fabre, secretary general of the Union of Forces for Change (UFC).
"We are ready to participate in the election, but we are not not suicidal, we are going to remain vigilant," he added.
Two other main opposition parties have said they planned to participate in the presidential poll.
The UFC's main concern is the status of its party leader, Gilchrist Olympio, who is in exile in France. He is prevented from running for president because of a residency requirement in the constitution.
Martin Aduayom, leader of the opposition Democratic Convention of the African People, said earlier he does not exclude the possibility of fielding a single candidate for all the principal opposition parties.
Ecowas, the Economic Community of West African States, which has encouraged the opposition to participate in the election, promised to monitor the electoral process to ensure "a just and transparent" vote.
The 15-nation Ecowas and the African Union had imposed sanctions on Togo after what was roundly condemned as a coup d'etat last month.
Long-time ruler Eyadema's favourite son was vaulted into the presidency hours after his father's death in a military power play backed with a tweak of the constitution by a loyalist congress.