Togo Opposition Unites Behind Bob Akitani

The six Togolese opposition parties came together and nominated Bob Akitani as their single candidate to run against “Baby Eyadema” Faure Gnassingbe in the April presidential election. The 74-year-old retired mining engineer is vice-president of Olympio’s UFC and is well-known from his last presidential run in 2003.

It took the six parties a while to figure it out, but, alas, they pulled it off! Olivier Bocco at LeTogolais reminds us that the opposition in Togo is a rather diverse group, and getting them all to agree on a single candidate is no small feat:

Il s’agissait, en effet, de choisir un candidat représentatif non seulement d’une famille politique, mais de toutes les luttes, de tous les sacrifices, de toutes les aspirations du plus grand nombre de citoyens togolais au cours de ces quarante dernières années. Il s’agissait de choisir un candidat qui incarne les valeurs fondamentales de la démocratie et des droits de l’Homme et qui aura à assumer des responsabilités éminentes et historiques, au quotidien, dans la pratique, au plus haut niveau de l’Etat, dans un pays qui a passé des décennies dans les ténèbres de l’autocratie et de l’obscurantisme. Il s’agissait, enfin, de désigner un candidat qui rassure au plan moral, sachant les énormes défis à relever à ce niveau. Nous aurons l’occasion de revenir sur l’enjeu majeur que constituent les questions éthiques dans notre pays où la décadence morale a atteint, sous l’impulsion du pouvoir, des proportions réellement tragiques pour l’avenir du pays de nos aïeux.

As important as it is, however, that the candidate is able to “represent the struggles and hopes of the majority of Togolese over the last decades” he also needs to be sharp enough to take on the RTP juggernaut and the clique of generals behind it. These guys don’t play nice. And they have a track record of successfully screwing with elections to keep their man (Eyadema and now Faure) in power.

The AU now has to keep the heat on and hold the RTP’s feet to the fire if there is ANY funny business with the elections. Hopefully the Carter Center and the EU will send observers. This election in tiny Togo is an important example of a people pulling itself by the bootstraps out of the morass of a bloody 38-year dictatorship. No invasions needed (we hope). Just attention and support for the democratic forces that finally may have a chance to give Togo a fresh start.

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