AGL 38.15 Decreased By ▼ -1.43 (-3.61%)
AIRLINK 125.07 Decreased By ▼ -6.15 (-4.69%)
BOP 6.85 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.59%)
CNERGY 4.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.26 (-5.52%)
DCL 7.91 Decreased By ▼ -0.53 (-6.28%)
DFML 37.34 Decreased By ▼ -4.13 (-9.96%)
DGKC 77.77 Decreased By ▼ -4.32 (-5.26%)
FCCL 30.58 Decreased By ▼ -2.52 (-7.61%)
FFBL 68.86 Decreased By ▼ -4.01 (-5.5%)
FFL 11.86 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-3.26%)
HUBC 104.50 Decreased By ▼ -6.24 (-5.63%)
HUMNL 13.49 Decreased By ▼ -1.02 (-7.03%)
KEL 4.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.54 (-10.4%)
KOSM 7.17 Decreased By ▼ -0.44 (-5.78%)
MLCF 36.44 Decreased By ▼ -2.46 (-6.32%)
NBP 65.92 Increased By ▲ 1.91 (2.98%)
OGDC 179.53 Decreased By ▼ -13.29 (-6.89%)
PAEL 24.43 Decreased By ▼ -1.25 (-4.87%)
PIBTL 7.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-2.59%)
PPL 143.70 Decreased By ▼ -10.37 (-6.73%)
PRL 24.32 Decreased By ▼ -1.51 (-5.85%)
PTC 16.40 Decreased By ▼ -1.41 (-7.92%)
SEARL 78.57 Decreased By ▼ -3.73 (-4.53%)
TELE 7.22 Decreased By ▼ -0.54 (-6.96%)
TOMCL 31.97 Decreased By ▼ -1.49 (-4.45%)
TPLP 8.13 Decreased By ▼ -0.36 (-4.24%)
TREET 16.13 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-2.95%)
TRG 54.66 Decreased By ▼ -2.74 (-4.77%)
UNITY 27.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.29 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-5.84%)
BR100 10,089 Decreased By -415.2 (-3.95%)
BR30 29,509 Decreased By -1717.6 (-5.5%)
KSE100 94,574 Decreased By -3505.6 (-3.57%)
KSE30 29,445 Decreased By -1113.9 (-3.65%)

Togo holds parliamentary elections on Sunday which, if free and fair, could convince international donors that the small West African state has fully embraced democratic rule.
The European Union, once Togo's biggest donor, froze most aid to the former French colony in 1993, citing the poor democratic record of then President Gnassingbe Eyadema, an archetypal African "Big Man" who ruled for four decades.
The country's political credentials took a further tumble in February 2005, when Eyadema suddenly died. The army named his son, Faure Gnassingbe, as president, violating the constitution and provoking violent protests in which hundreds of opposition supporters were killed by the security forces. Tens of thousands more fled the country.
International leaders eventually persuaded Gnassingbe to hold elections which he won. Togolese hope Sunday's long-awaited parliamentary vote, in which more than 2,000 candidates from 31 parties are standing, will be a marked contrast to those presidential polls, held in a climate of fear in the wake of the security crackdown.
"Our determination comes from the change we want at the head of this country. Forty years of dictatorship is too much," Sister Happy, a fervent opposition supporter, shouted from the back of a motorcycle during a campaign rally.
The oceanside capital Lome, buzzing with moped taxis and fronted by palm-fringed beaches, has been overrun by campaign caravans and meetings over the past two weeks, attended by mostly young supporters swathed in bright party colours.
Among those running for 81 seats in parliament are candidates from Eyadema's former ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), from the Union of Forces for Change (UFC) of opposition veteran Gilchrist Olympio and from the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) of Prime Minister Yawovi Agboyibo.
"The successful holding of these elections is a decisive step on the path to a just and lasting settlement of this crisis which is sapping our country, and to its return to normal relations with all its development partners," Olympio said.
Gnassingbe appointed Agboyibo as head of a new unity government just over a year ago, seen as an important step towards reconciliation and a return to democracy.
"The Togolese people no longer want to see their houses destroyed. They no longer want to have to flee after these elections," CAR vice-president Dodji Apevon told supporters.
Security will be tight on voting day, with a specially mustered 3,500-strong election police force deployed around the country as well as 100 military observers from West African regional bloc ECOWAS. Over 3,000 international civilian election observers are also expected. Almost a decade and a half without full-scale aid has taken a heavy toll on Togo, many of whose 6.4 million people rely on subsistence agriculture to survive.
"It was the undemocratic nature of Togo's politics that led to the cessation of relations with the donor community in 1993, but now ... a real opportunity to put Togo back on the right footing on the international stage has been created," Kissy Agyeman, Africa analyst at research group Global Insight, said.

Copyright Reuters, 2007

Comments

Comments are closed.