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Togo parliament amends constitution
by Ebow Godwin

The Associated Press Translate This Article
7 February 2005

LOME, Togo - Togo's parliament hastily amended the constitution Sunday to put a legal veneer on the military's appointment of 39-year-old Faure Gnassingbe to replace his deceased father as president, voiding the need for new elections until 2008.

The military, within hours of the announcement of Gnassingbe Eyadema's death on Saturday, named his son president, contravening the country's constitution that called for the speaker of parliament to succeed the head of state until elections could be held in 60 days.

The extraordinary session of the 81-member national assembly, dominated by Eyadema's ruling Togo People's Rally party, overwhelmingly approved Gnassingbe as speaker of parliament by a vote of 67 to 14. It then passed a constitutional amendment letting him fulfill his father's term, which expires in 2008.

Addressing parliament afterward, Gnassingbe said: ''Togo is engaged without reserve in the democratic process, which I will pursue to its logical conclusion.''

''The challenges are many, and difficult. But I believe that I can count on all of you, and all Togolese of good will who believe in peace, national unity and security,'' Gnassingbe said. ''I open my arms to all who want to join me in this difficult task to promote justice and liberty in Togo.''

The African Union, trying to put decades of coups on the continent behind it, condemned the army appointment.

''The constitutional order must be re-established so that power can be held by the president of the national assembly,'' said Adam Thiam, spokesman for African Union chairman Alpha Oumar Konare. ''This administration will not be recognized because it comes from a coup d'etat.''

France, Togo's colonial ruler until 1960, put its troops in the region on alert in case they are needed to protect 2,500 citizens in the West African nation of 5.5 million.

French President Jacques Chirac spoke Sunday to African leaders and ''made it known that the time of military coups d'etat is finished in Africa,'' said his defense minister, Michele Alliot-Marie.

Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled for 38 years—longer than any other leader except Cuba's Fidel Castro, suffered a heart attack Saturday and reportedly died as he was being rushed to Europe for treatment. He was 69.

The army move and the parliament's endorsement reflected the determination of Eyadema's minority Kabye ethnic group, which dominates the army, to hold onto power along with ruling party members who have benefited from decades of Eyadema's patronage.

Before being declared president Saturday, Gnassingbe was a communications minister and a member of parliament for Blitta, in central Togo. He was present during Sunday's session. Family names often are reversed in Africa.

Had the army not stepped in, the interim presidency would have legally gone to Fanbare Ouattara Natchaba, the speaker of parliament who was in Europe when Eyadema died.

Hurrying back to Africa, Natchaba was forced to return to Benin, instead of Togo, because authorities sealed his country's borders as a security measure. Officials said he would now become a regular parliament member.

Reached earlier by phone at a hotel in Benin's main city, Cotonou, Natchaba told The Associated Press on Sunday, ''I don't wish to give any interviews.''

The army had claimed that waiting until Natchaba returned would have risked instability.

Nigeria's powerful President Olusegun Obasanjo, the head of the 53-nation African Union, said ''unconstitutional transfer of power in Togo'' will not be condoned.

''Democracy must be the principle in Africa and all African nations will have to subscribe to that,'' Obasanjo spokeswoman Remi Oyo said.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas, executive secretary of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States told The Associated Press he arrived in Togo late Sunday to hold talks with Gnassingbe and top military brass. He declined further comment.

European Union Commissioner Louis Michel urged ''strict respect of procedures under the constitution,'' and said the appointment of Eyadema's son would have ''consequences'' for Togo's relations with the EU, which cut much-needed aid to Eyadema's government in 1993 after allegations that security forces had fired upon democracy activists.

A Togolese opposition leader who lives in Paris, Gilchrist Olympio, also denounced the appointment of Eyadema's son as ''a military coup d'etat'. ''The military have always ruled under Eyadema and they want to continue to rule,'' Olympio said.

Eyadema took power in 1967, four years after abetting one of sub-Saharan Africa's first postcolonial coups.

Along with leaders of Zimbabwe, Guinea and Cameroon, he was considered one of the last of Africa's ''Big Men''—rulers holding power through patronage, the loyalty of their ethnic and regional groups, and military force. He survived assassination attempts, international isolation over rights abuses and uprisings.

On Sunday, the prime minister's office declared the start of an official two-month national mourning period and ordered flags at half-staff.

The streets of the capital, Lome, were largely deserted, with markets closed and people keeping indoors for fear of trouble. Traffic was sparse, and no significant military presence was visible.

State television broadcast Christian hymns and prayers accompanied by a photograph of Eyadema, flanked by crosses.

Copyright©2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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