Faure Gnassingbe is still Togo President after elections

Togo’s National Electoral Commission (CENI) has declared incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe and leader of the ruling Union for the Republic (UNIR), as the winner of last Saturday’s presidential election held in the West African country.

The Commission said he won by a huge margin of 72.36 per cent.

Mr. Tchambakou Ayassor, President of CENI, announcing the provisional results in a televised press conference monitored by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said the closest contender, Dr Agbeyome Kodjo obtained 18.37 per cent.

Mr. Jean-Pierre Fabre got 4.35 per cent, Professor Tchaboure Gogue, 2.38 per cent, Prof Komi Wolou, 1.14 per cent, Dr. Georges William Kuessan, 0.77 per cent and Mr. Mohamed Tchassona Traore, 0.63 per cent.

President Gnassingbe won in four regions- Savanna, Kara, Plateau and Central, while Dr. Kodjo took the Coastal Region.

The electoral body is expected to submit the final results in the coming days to the Constitutional court for validation.

The victory is  Mr Gnassingbe’s fourth since coming into office in 2005, following the death of his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled Togo for 38 years after coming to power through a coup d’état in 1967.

He later won a re-election in 2010 and a third term in 2015.

Following protests in 2017 and 2018 demanding an end to the 50 years of Gnassingbe dynasty, the Togo’s constitution was overhauled – introducing a five-year, two terms limit.

Earlier, Dr Kodjo briefed the media in his home late Saturday to claim a thumping victory for himself saying that he based his assertion on 60 per cent of the results and that, “it is impossible for the outgoing candidate to be elected in the first round.

“I have the conviction that in the coming week, I will lead this country,” he said, describing the vote as a “veritable tsunami,” in his favour.

Source: GNA