Togo presidential vote remains unclear as opposition supporters threaten violence

Suspense as state of Togo vote unclear

LOME, Togo — Togo’s electoral commission called on citizens to remain calm Friday as an impasse between the ruling party and the opposition delayed vote counting from the presidential election that pits the son of a longtime dictator against six opposition candidates.

Outside the headquarters of the main opposition party, the Union for the Forces of Change, young men and old women gathered to wait for results, promising violence if the ruling party tries to steal the election.

“Togo will burn,” said 57-year-old Charlotte Lelatou. “We are tired and we want a change.”

The African nation of 6 million has never had a vote considered free and fair and the opposition has vowed to take to the streets in massive protests if the ruling party tries to rig the results as they were accused of doing five years ago.

The current race is between six opposition candidates and President Faure Gnassingbe, the son of the country’s former dictator.

The military seized control of the country and imposed the 43-year-old as president immediately after the death of his father on Feb. 5, 2005. Gnassingbe went on to run in 2005 elections that were widely viewed as fraudulent and where the military systematically stole ballot boxes from polling stations.

In a statement read on state TV, the Independent Electoral Commission asked candidates and citizens “to exercise patience and serenity while the commission makes every effort to centralize the results from various polling stations.” It said the commission will release provisional results by Saturday.

The election commission did not begin the vote counting until Thursday night, more than six hours after polling stations had closed. Political parties argued over how the votes should be transmitted.

The opposition — backed by international observers from the European Union and a regional bloc of West African states — want the results of each individual polling station sent to the central election commission by VSAT, a system using satellite transmission.

According to two foreign observers, the president of the electoral commission, who is an appointee of Gnassingbe, wanted the results sent by text message or by fax. Both methods can be tampered with. The observers spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the press.

The parties reached an agreement near midnight calling for the results to be sent in by all three methods, and agreeing that a result could only be counted if two of the three were the same, according to an international observer.

Associated Press Writer Ebow Godwin contributed to this report.