Annan asks for calm in Togo

2005-04-26 20:15

New York - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed for calm in Togo, where violence erupted in the streets on Tuesday after the son of the former long time ruler won the African country's latest election.

"The secretary-general reiterates his urgent appeal for calm and calls upon the various political leaders and their supporters to refrain from any actions or statements that incite further violence or promote hatred and divisions in the country," his spokesperson said in a statement.

"He also calls on the security forces to exercise similar restraint," the statement said, referring to Tuesday's clashes as well as violence after the voting on Sunday.

The electoral commission announced that Faure Gnassingbe, son of long time ruler Gnassingbe Eyadema, won the presidential election with 60% of the vote, setting off clashes between angry youths and police in the capital, Lome.

Exiled opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio said there had been "massive fraud" in the polling.

Annan on Sunday had praised the "peaceful" manner in which the election was carried out.

In the statement on Tuesday, he said he welcomed efforts by the African Union to "encourage dialogue and national reconciliation" in Togo.

The chair of the African Union, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Tuesday repeated his call for Togo's rival parties to form a unity government.

- AFP