TIG Post

Tag: togo

  • Business at Aflao declines as Togo votes

    Commercial activities at the Aflao Border have seen a sharp decline as Ghana’s eastern neighbour, Togo, goes to the polls today to elect the country’s next president.

    As a result, not only was the usual bustle from business and transport operators along the main border absent but human and vehicular traffic was also non-existent as travellers and residents avoided crossing the border.

    Some people the Ghana News Agency (GNA) spoke with during a visit to the border revealed that this was the first time in a long time that the Togo side of the border had remained opened while presidential election was ongoing.

    Madam Kayisan Aguto, a cloth seller, said: “Any time Togolese are voting, nobody can enter Togo from Ghana or come to Ghana from there. It’s a surprise that the border is opened today while they’re voting.”

    “Since that has become the norm, people assumed that the Togo
    Border will be closed and so traders from Kumasi and other parts of Ghana couldn’t come today.”

    Madam Aguto said earlier in the morning, some traders were at the border but went back for the fear of the unknown.

    The various transport stations at Aflao, including the State Transport Company and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union were virtually empty.

    Mr Francis Halolo, who books vehicles for Accra, said business had been slow throughout the day due to the election adding; “The system has really been dry today.”

    Mr Kwasi Amedzro, a forex bureau operator, said: “leaving the Togo border open during elections means a wind of change is about to blow over the country.”

    He noted that he did not open his shop because of uncertainties and hoped the change would translate into free and fair elections that would be accepted by all.

    A total of seven candidates including President Faure Gnassingbe under the banner of Union for the Republic (UNIR) and his two strong opponents, Mr Jean-Piere Fabre and Dr Agbeyome Kodjo, are in the race for the presidency.

    The rest are Professor Tchaboure Gogue, Dr Georges William Kuessan, Mr Mohamed Tchassona Traore and Prof Komi Wolou.

    Source: GNA

  • Togo heads to the polls today

    Voters in Togo will head to the polls on Saturday to choose their next president.

    Incumbent Faure Gnassingbé will face six rivals, including long-time opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre.

    Polling stations across the coastal West African nation will be open from 07:00 to 16:00GMT on Saturday.

    More than 3.5 million people registered to vote.

    Members of the diaspora will be allowed to cast their ballots for the first time, although only 300 were able to register.

    Mr Gnassingbé of the ruling Union for the Republic is running for a fourth term.

    Constitutional changes were approved last year allowing him to seek re-election – an issue which sparked huge protests in 2017-18.

    His family has ruled the country for over half a century.

    Former journalist and human right campaigner Jean-Pierre Fabre of the National Alliance for Change, is running for a third time, after coming second in 2010 and 2015.

    Five other candidates are competing, including former Prime Minister Gabriel Messan Agbéyomé Kodjo, who represents a coalition of opposition and civil society groups.

    Provisional results are expected six days after polls close.

    Source: BBC

  • Togo election: Gnassingbe expected to extend family’s long rule

    Voters in Togo are set to cast their ballots on Saturday in a presidential election that is expected to further extend the Gnassingbe family’s decades-long rule.

    Polls show incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe is likely to win a fourth-straight term in office as the opposition has not been able to form a united front.

    The 53-year-old leader took office in 2005 after the death of his father, Eyadema Gnassingbe, who led the country for 38 years after seizing power in a coup in 1967.

    Among the candidates is a former journalist and human rights campaigner, Jean-Pierre Fabre, who challenged Gnassingbe in the 2010 and 2015 elections, coming in second on both occasions.

    Five other candidates are also competing, including former Prime Minister Gabriel Messan Agbeyome Kodjo, who represents a coalition of opposition and civil society groups.

    The election comes on the back of a series of major protests that swept through the country of some eight million people in 2017 and 2018 with demonstrators demanding that Gnassingbe step aside. However, demonstrations were choked off by a fierce government crackdown and a split among the opposition, and Gnassingbe’s grip now appears as solid as ever.

    The president pushed through constitutional changes in May last year allowing him to stand again this year, and potentially stay in office until 2030.

    The constitutional change caps the presidential mandate to two five-year terms, but does not take into account the three terms Gnassingbe has already served.

    Between hope and disillusionment

    The bulk of the 3.5-million eligible voters will be comprised of mostly young people such as 24-year-old Fynn Egbede.

    Egbede, who has known just two presidents in Togo in his lifetime, got his first voter card in 2018.

    “I am looking forward to this experience. I have carefully kept my voter card and will go out to vote for my candidate,” Egbede told Al Jazeera.

    While opposition candidate Fabre is promising to restore democracy and boost economic development, the ruling party has been campaigning on a pledge to create 500,000 jobs across the country by 2022 to ease the frustration of a large number of unemployed young people.

    Togolese have witnessed six presidential elections since the democratic movement of the 1990s – all won by the Gnassingbe family.

    “We are tired of hearing the same thing every time,” said Gloria Krobo, a 42-year-old trader based in the capital, Lome. “We are not making progress. We need to change the way we do things but I don’t think retaining the ruling party will change anything.”

    Despite economic growth in recent years of about 5 percent, driven by investment in energy and transport, about half the population is affected by food insecurity, while almost 70 percent of rural households live below the poverty line, according to the World Food Programme.

    Risk of electoral fraud

    Concerns over the fairness of the electoral process are high among opposition members who say little has changed since the 2018 parliamentary elections, which were boycotted by 14 parties that cited irregularities.

    Despite the United Nations and regional body ECOWAS’s deployment of election observers, the national election commission stripped the National Consultation of Civil Society of Togo, a main independent observer group, of its accreditation, accusing it of “preparing to carry out interference” in the vote.

    The move earlier this week came after authorities previously blocked Catholic Church monitors from observing the election.

    Fabre said some of his campaign rallies were blocked by authorities and raised concerns about the transparency of the vote.

    But Egbede is still determined to participate.

    “I hope the elections will be free and fair so that we can elect a president of our choice. I couldn’t vote during the last parliamentary elections because of violence in my area. I hope this one will be peaceful,” he said.

    Polling stations will open at 07:00 GMT and close at 16:00 GMT, with provisional results expected six days later.

    Source: Aljazeera.com

  • Voters gear up for Togo election

    Voters in Togo will head to the polls on Saturday to choose their next president.

    Incumbent Faure Gnassingbé will face six rivals, including long-time opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre.

    Polling stations across the coastal West African nation will be open from 07:00 to 16:00GMT on Saturday.

    More than 3.5 million people registered to vote.

    Members of the diaspora will be allowed to cast their ballots for the first time, although only 300 were able to register.

    Mr Gnassingbé of the ruling Union for the Republic is running for a fourth term.

    Constitutional changes were approved last year allowing him to seek re-election – an issue which sparked huge protests in 2017-18.

    His family has ruled the country for over half a century.

    Former journalist and human right campaigner Jean-Pierre Fabre of the National Alliance for Change, is running for a third time, after coming second in 2010 and 2015.

    Five other candidates are competing, including former Prime Minister Gabriel Messan Agbéyomé Kodjo, who represents a coalition of opposition and civil society groups.

    Provisional results are expected six days after polls close.

    Source: bbc. com

  • Campaigns end as Togo president seeks fourth term

    Candidates have ended their campaigns ahead of the first round of Togo’s presidential elections on Saturday.

    In his final public address in his hometown Kara, north of the capital Lomé, President Faure Gnassingbé told supporters that the future of the country was now in their hands and urged them to turn out to vote.

    President Gnassingbé took over from his late father and is seeking to extend his family’s half-century domination of the West African nation.

    After weathering protests in 2017 and 2018, he pushed through constitutional changes last year, despite demonstrations by opposition supporters, enabling him to run again. In-fighting among the opposition saw the demonstrations fizzle out.

    President Gnassingbé is vying on a Union for the Republic (UNIR) party ticket and will be challenged by Jean-Pierre Fabre of the National Alliance for Change (ANC) party.

    Mr Fabre came second in the last two elections and has been unable to unite the opposition.

    Former Prime Minister Agbéyomé Kodjo, who served under Mr Gnassingbé’s father, is also vying on a Patriotic Movement for Democracy and Development (MPDD) ticket.

    Mr Kodjo’s latest presidential bid has been endorsed by Archbishop Philippe Fanoko Kpodzro, the Archbishop Emeritus of Lome and dean of the bishops of Togo.

  • Togo election: Main observer group barred from monitoring

    Togo’s national election commission has revoked a main independent observer group’s accreditation to monitor the country’s presidential election, just days before the vote is due to take place.

    Long-standing President Faure Gnassingbe is widely expected to win Saturday’s election, extending his family’s decades-long rule after seeing off a wave of anti-government protests in 2017 and 2018.

    In a letter dated February 17, the commission said it had cancelled the accreditation of the National Consultation of Civil Society of Togo to field their 500 observers nationwide, accusing it of “preparing to carry out interference” in the vote.

    The move came after authorities previously blocked Catholic Church monitors from observing the election, which government critics allege will not be free and fair.

    As the electoral campaign is under way, Togolese have to decide whether to grant a fourth term for Gnassingbe. The incumbent 53-year-old leader took office in 2005 after the death of his father Eyadema Gnassingbe, who led the country for 38 years after seizing power in a coup in 1967.

    A series of major protests swept the country of some eight million people in 2017 and 2018 demanding that Gnassingbe leaves power. However, demonstrations were choked by a fierce government crackdown and splits among the opposition, with Gnassingbe’s grip now appearing as solid as ever.

    The president pushed through constitutional changes in May allowing him to stand again this year, and potentially stay in office until 2030.

    The constitutional change caps the presidential mandate to two five-year terms, but does not take into account the three terms Gnassingbe has already served.

    “President Gnassingbe supporters believe that he provides the security and stability for the Togolese,” Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Togo’s capital, Lome, said.

    “But the opposition says it can only grow the economy and bring prosperity to Togo,” Idris said.

    While reviving the economy is a concern for many who live in rural areas where 60 percent of people lack access to electricity and clean water, some believe that reforms alone would not be enough to solve their problems.

    “There is widespread poverty among the population,” Togolese journalist Carlos Ketohou told Al Jazeera.

    “There is little or no economic empowerment for the poor. Some voters want a change of the current regime, to them it will mean economic freedom,” said Ketohou.

    According to the World Food Programme, about half of the population is affected by food insecurity, while almost 70 percent of rural households live below the poverty line.

    Meanwhile, Gnasssingbe has promised to create 500,000 jobs across the country by 2022 to ease the frustrations of the large number of unemployed youths in the country.

    But some doubted the upcoming ballot could create meaningful change.

    “I am not going to vote,” said student Laure Dzossou-Afanlete.

    “I can’t go and queue to cast my ballot for a change that never comes. When I know my vote will make a difference, maybe I will change my mind.”

    Source: aljazeera.com