Four People Die as Opposition, Police Clash Before Togo Election
By Kossi Woussou
December 11, 2018, 1:21 AM EST
At least four people died in clashes between Togolese police and opposition supporters before controversial parliamentary elections this month.
Three people died in the capital, Lomé, over the weekend, while the body of another person was found in the northern town of Sokode on Monday, Security Minister General Yark Damehame said on state television. Opposition spokeswoman Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo put the death toll at six, including three people killed in Sokode, with several others wounded, she said by phone.
A coalition of opposition parties, including the Alliance Nationale pour le Changement, has demanded the government halt preparations for the Dec. 20 vote after Togolese authorities only allowed some small parties and independent candidates to participate in the poll.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets last year to demand an end to President Faure Gnassingbe’s 13-year rule, prompting talks led by Ghana and Guinea. While the negotiations resulted in a date for the elections, the opposition says the government hasn’t fulfilled promises it made to mediators of the Economic Community of West African States.
December 11, 2018, 1:21 AM EST
At least four people died in clashes between Togolese police and opposition supporters before controversial parliamentary elections this month.
Three people died in the capital, Lomé, over the weekend, while the body of another person was found in the northern town of Sokode on Monday, Security Minister General Yark Damehame said on state television. Opposition spokeswoman Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo put the death toll at six, including three people killed in Sokode, with several others wounded, she said by phone.
A coalition of opposition parties, including the Alliance Nationale pour le Changement, has demanded the government halt preparations for the Dec. 20 vote after Togolese authorities only allowed some small parties and independent candidates to participate in the poll.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets last year to demand an end to President Faure Gnassingbe’s 13-year rule, prompting talks led by Ghana and Guinea. While the negotiations resulted in a date for the elections, the opposition says the government hasn’t fulfilled promises it made to mediators of the Economic Community of West African States.
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