Togo’s main opposition candidate complained on Monday of widespread irregularities in Saturday’s presidential election and called for the announcement of results to be halted. Results issued earlier on Monday from six of 42 voting districts put President Faure Gnassingbe ahead with 64 percent of the vote and his nearest rival, Jean-Pierre Fabre, on 33 percent. The remaining votes were shared between the three other candidates. Gnassingbe is widely favoured to win a third term, extending his family’s long hold on leadership. He has held power Togo since 2005, when his father died after 38 years in charge. No more results had been issued by early evening.
However, Fabre’s CAP 2015 coalition sent a letter to Issoufou Taffa Tabiou, the head of the election commission, laying out a series of complaints over the process. The letter said that the initial figures produced by the election commission did not match the results CAP 2015 members had recorded at polling stations.
Fabre’s party said that the number of votes cast exceeded the number of registered voters in at least nine constituencies — Binah, Tone, Cinkasse, Kozah, Bassar, Tchamba, Blitta, Sotouboua and Plaine de Moin — in the north, a stronghold for the president.
The letter also complained of intimidation, many people voting without elections card and an abuse of voting by proxy.
Full Article: UPDATE 1-Early Togo election results give president lead; rival cries foul | Reuters.