Flag of Togo, a West African country.

A presidential election was held in Togo on April 24, 2005, following the death in office of long-time president Gnassingbé Eyadéma. The main candidates were Eyadéma's son, Faure Gnassingbé, and opposition leader Emmanuel Bob-Akitani. The election and the period preceding it were marked by violence, and many people were reported killed in various incidents. According to official results, Gnassingbé won the election, taking slightly more than 60% of the vote. Violence flared in the capital Lomé after the results were announced, and thousands have fled into neighboring countries. April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (115th in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... Gnassingbé Eyadéma - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Faure Gnassingbé Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé (born June 6, 1966), also known as Faure Eyadéma, has been the President of Togo since May 4, 2005; he was previously president for twenty days from February 5 to February 25, 2005. ... Lomé, estimated population 700,000 (1998), is the capital of Togo. ...

Background

The death of Eyadéma on February 5, 2005, was followed by the naming of his son, Faure, as president. This move was taken first by the military, ostensibly to ensure stability, and subsequently legalized—at least ostensibly—by Gnassingbé's election as parliament speaker by the parliament, which is controlled by the ruling party, the Rally for the Togolese People (RPT). The parliament subsequently changed the constitution so that elections would not need to be held within 60 days, thus allowing the son to serve out the remainder of his father's term, which would have expired in 2008. These events were branded an unconstitutional coup by many, who thought that the parliament speaker at the time of Eyadéma's death, Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba, should have taken power according to the constitution. Under heavy pressure from others in the region, Gnassingbé stepped down on February 25 and was replaced by Bonfoh Abbass, but he ran for president with the backing of the ruling party in an election on April 24. February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... 2008 is a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A coup détat (pronounced kÅ« dā ta), or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba (b. ... February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... El-Hadj Bonfoh Abbass (b. ... April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (115th in leap years). ...

Campaign

Faure had been formally chosen as the party's candidate immediately prior to his resignation on February 25. The main opposition leader, Gilchrist Olympio, was barred from standing due to a provision that a presidential candidate must have lived in the country for 12 months prior to the election; Olympio had been in exile, and his party, the Union of Forces for Change (UFC), nominated Emmanuel Bob-Akitani, the party's vice-president, as its candidate instead, representing a six-party opposition coalition. Bob-Akitani, who was chosen as the joint candidate of the six parties on March 14, previously and unsuccessfully ran against Gnassingbé's father in 2003. Olympio returned to the country from exile on March 19 and endorsed Bob-Akitani's candidacy. Harry Olympio of the Rally for the Support of Democracy and Development (RSDD) said in mid-March that he would be a candidate; he pointed to Bob-Akitani's advanced age in saying that Togo needed youthful leadership.¹ Gnassingbé, at age 38, is even younger than Harry Olympio, however, and he also tried to use this to his advantage by stressing the need for youthful leadership. Gilchrist Olympio in 2005. ... March 14 is the 73rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (74th in Leap years) with 292 days remaining in the year. ... March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ...

Candidates had until March 26 to register, and campaigning took place from April 8 to April 22.² The opposition demanded the postponement of the election, and it continued to do so after the electoral commission said on March 23 that the election would go ahead as scheduled. Demonstrations both for and against the April 24 date were held on March 26. [1] March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... April 22 is the 112th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (113th in leap years). ...

On April 16, seven people—six from the ruling party and one from the opposition—were reportedly killed in clashes between supporters of the two sides. Each side accused the other of provoking the violence. [2] April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ...

A few days before the election, interior minister Francois Boko said it would be "suicidal" to hold the election as planned and called for it to be postponed. He also called for a transitional government to be set up that would last for one or two years with an opposition prime minister. This call was quickly rejected by interim president Bonfoh Abbass, who also said that Boko would be replaced as interior minister. Bob-Akitani, who also wanted the elections postponed, called Boko's action "courageous". [3] El-Hadj Bonfoh Abbass (b. ...

Nicolas Lawson of the Party for Renewal and Redemption (PRR) had planned to contest the election but withdrew shortly after Boko's statement. Another candidate, Kofi Yamgnane, withdrew from the race in favor of Bob-Akitani a month earlier, on March 23. Nicholas Lawson (b. ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ...

Ballot

As the voting ended on April 24, three people were reported to have been killed. Each side has accused the other of disruption and stuffing ballot boxes. [4] On April 25, Gnassingbé and Gilchrist Olympio reportedly reached a deal providing for the establishment of a government of national unity, regardless of who won the election, [5] but this was later denied by the opposition. On April 26, provisional results were announced: Gnassingbé won with 60.22% of the vote, with Bob-Akitani coming in second with 38.19%. [6] Harry Olympio received only 0.55% of the vote, while Lawson took 1.04% despite having withdrawn from the race. 63.6% of registered voters participated in the election. The constitutional court confirmed Gnassingbé's win on 3 May, when official results were released. April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (116th in leap years). ... April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). ... May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ...

Official election results

Member parties of the coalition supporting Emmanuel Bob-Akitani Faure Gnassingbé Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé (born June 6, 1966), also known as Faure Eyadéma, has been the President of Togo since May 4, 2005; he was previously president for twenty days from February 5 to February 25, 2005. ... Nicholas Lawson (b. ...

• Union of Forces for Change (UFC)
• Alliance of Democrats for Integral Development (ADDI)
• Action Committee for Renewal (CAR)
• Democratic Convention of African Peoples (CDPA)
• Socialist Party for Renewal (PSR)
• Union of Socialist Democrats of Togo (UDS-Togo)

Election aftermath

On April 27, 11 people were reported dead and 95 injured in clashes as supporters of the opposition battled the police in Lomé. [7] Bob-Akitani subsequently declared himself president, claiming to have actually taken 70% of the vote. [8] By April 29 approximately 100 people were reported to have been killed, many in the town of Aneho, near the border with Benin. [9] While Lomé was reported to be calmer than immediately after the election [10], armed men shot into the German cultural center before burning the building down on the evening of April 28. April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ...

Gnassingbé was sworn in as president on May 4. [11] The Togolese League of Human Rights said later in May that 790 people had been killed and 4,345 had been hurt in the violence, covering the period from March 28 to May 5. This is considerably higher than previous estimates of a death toll of about 100. An official commission of inquiry into the violence has been ordered by the government, the results of which are planned to be made public within three months. About 24,000 people are said to have fled into neighboring Ghana and Benin. [12] May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ...

References

1. Ebow Godwin, Associated Press, "AP Interview: Opposition leader Harry Olympio says he's running for president in Togo", March 18, 2005.
2. Deutsche Presse-Agentur, "Date set for elections in Togo", March 4, 2005.
3. Angus Reid Consultants - Election Tracker