Togolese Go To Poll For Parliamentary and Council Election Today The Republic of Togo is holding her Parliamentary and local council elections today, amidst optimism of a successful and conclusive ballot that will herald reforms in the polity. However tension has been mounting in the country over the inability to hold parliamentary elections in the country. Since November, 2012 election dates have been shelved due to the rift between government and the opposition. Presently, there is no sitting Parliament in the country, raising concerns over the future of democracy in the country. The division between the ruling party UNIR and the opposition parties prompted the visit of the Chairman for the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State, President Alassane Ouattara and his Nigerian counterpart, President Goodluck Jonathan last Friday, in order to mediate in the face off. Following the interface of the two Presidents, all the five political parties namely, CLE, ANC, CPP, UFC and UNIR resolved that the election should hold today as planned. Meanwhile to ensure a free and fair ballot, international and local peace monitoring groups are already in the country to observe the process. For instance, the delegation of African Union Election Monitoring Group have been in the country since last week to observe the process; also, the Group of African Ambassadors in Togo held an emergency meeting yesterday, just to strategize on their mission to observe and ensure that the poll was free and fair. The head of the Group, and Nigerian Ambassador to Togo, Ambassador Matthew Sunday Adoli told journalists after the meeting that the successful conduct of the poll was paramount to Africa, even as he was enthused that the election will be credible. Elhadji Ibrahim Kane, of Guinea Consul to Togo restated the call for peace, even as he expressed optimism that the election will hold without any hitch. Other observer mission groups that are in the country to monitor the election are ECOWAS Group, the United Nations, African Ambassadors Group, Group of Francophone countries.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 07:33:15 +0000
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