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Togolese vote to choose new leader
LOME, April 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Around 2.2 million eligible voters lined up in front of various
polling stations in Togo on Sunday, casting their ballots to choose a new
president for the west African country which was plunged into political
uncertainty after the death of the 38-year ruler, Eyadema Gnassingbe.
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| Ruling-party candidate Faure Gnassingbe (C)
waves to supporters after casting his vote in the Togolese presidential
elections in the capital Lome, in southern Togo Sunday April 24.
(Xinhua/AFP) |
Many
people came ahead of 6:30 a.m. (0630 GMT), when the polling centers are
officially ruled to open. They waited in long queues for the voting to start.
The presidential race will be mainly between the opposition candidate
Emmanuel Bob Akitani and Faure Gnassingbe, son of Eyadema whom the military
violated the constitution to install as Togo's leader and stepped aside under
intense pressure at home and broad.
Akitani came to vote at 10:30 a.m. (1030 GMT). People cheered to give
him a warm welcome. He said 90 percent of the population "wants a change, to end
the nearly four decades of rule by the Togolese People's Rally party."
"The six opposition coalition party will certainly win this
presidential poll," said Akitani, the sole candidate representing the six
biggest opposition parties. He is also the vice president of the main opposition
Union of Forces for Change party.
He made an experiment after casting his ballot to prove that the ink
to prevent voters from repeated voting are delible, saying this has made room
for cheating.
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| Ruling-party candidate Faure
Gnassingbe casts his vote in the Togolese presidential elections April 24.
(Xinhua/AFP) |
"Let's witness this fact together," said Akitani, "anyway, this will
not obstruct Togolese. Let us work together to defend the victory of Togolese
people."
In the polling station where Akitani voted, a working staff told
reporters that in the first two hours after the vote started, over 150 people
have cast their ballots in one polling booth, which has some 800 registered
voters.
"They're active," said Touh Maleki, who is sent by Togo's independent
electoral committee to monitor the whole voting process in this center, noting
nothing wrong has happened up to now.
Running as ruling party's candidate, Faure Gnassingbe cast his ballot
at a school in downtown Lome earlier at around 7:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), telling
reporters afterwards, "This is a big step. The fact that we held elections is
the first victory for us."
He called on the Togolese people to make their best choice in the
polls, and expressed confidence of a peaceful election, saying "there will not
be violence. I know the Togolese people, they are not violent."
The long queues snaking outside the voting centers, are quite, a
contrast to the streets in the capital Lome, where quietness dominates and one
can see few people and few cars passing by.
However, during the two-week long campaign, clashes between
government and opposition supporters were frequently seen on the streets. The
opposition has claimed the government rigged voter registration and requested a
postponement of the polls.
Sunday's elections follow the February 5 death of longtime ruler
Gnassingbe Eyadema. The military initially installed his son, Faure Gnassingbe,
who called the election and resigned within weeks in the face of international
pressure and protests at home.
Togo's interim President Abass Bonfoh has made a televised speech
later Saturday appealing for calm and urging political parties to respect "the
verdict of the ballot box."
"The presidential election, scheduled for Sunday, is not an ordinary
one," Bonfoh said, noting it is held under the emergent circumstance following
the decease of 38-year ruler Gnassingbe Eyadema, to avoid a power vacuum in the
west African country.
"Once again, I invite every one of us to show moderation so that the
vote and the count can take place in the greatest transparency," he called.
The polling centers will close at 5:00 p.m. (1700 GMT), after which
ballots will be counted immediately, and sent to the independent electoral
commission.
It is not known when the final results will come out, but it will be
announced by the Constitutional Court of Togo after it verifies the outcome.
Togo lies in west Africa, forming a narrow strip stretching north
from a coastline on the Gulf of Guinea. It is bordered by Ghana to the west,
Benin to the east, Burkina Faso to the north.
The Togolese government on Friday ordered to intermittently close all
land borders to discourage election tampering, but airports remain open.
Enditem
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