Election commission president says Gnassingbe Togo election winner, family has ruled 43 years
By APSaturday, March 6, 2010
Gnassingbe declared presidential winner in Togo
LOME, Togo — The president of Togo’s election commission has declared the son of the late dictator winner of the presidential race with 60.9 percent of the vote.
Issifou Tabio says provisional results show that Faure Gnassingbe won 1.2 million votes of the 2 million votes cast. Opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre received 692,584 votes.
The contentious election was the second since the death of Eyadema Gnassingbe. The family has ruled for 43 years.
Police spokesman Abalo Assih says officers in the capital earlier fired tear gas on some 200 protesters angry that the opposition party was trailing.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
LOME, Togo (AP) — Provisional results turned in to Togo’s election commission indicate that the son of the country’s late dictator has won the presidential election by a large margin.
The results presented orally district by district show that President Faure Gnassingbe received over 1.2 million votes. Opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre received under 700,000 votes.
The results are to be officially announced late Saturday.
The contentious election was the second since the death of Eyadema Gnassingbe. The family has ruled for 43 years.
Police spokesman Abalo Assih says officers in the capital fired tear gas on some 200 protesters angry that the opposition party was trailing.
