ECOWAS Declares Togo Parliamentary Polls Credible, Transparent

The ECOWAS Observer Mission to Thursday’s Parliamentary polls in Togo has declared the elections credible and transparent.

In its preliminary report, which was made available to PANA here Friday, the 80-member mission said though there were shortcomings, they were not sufficiently significant to mar the credibility of the elections.

‘Consequently, the Mission considers that the 25 July 2013 legislative elections proceeded in acceptable conditions of freedom and transparency,’ said the Mission, which was headed by Ambassador Leopold Ouedraogo, a former Minister in Burkina Faso.

The Mission urged Togo’s Electoral Commission to announce the provisional results within the stipulated time line, and exhorted all stakeholders to refrain from speculating or declaring unofficial results.

It also called on all political parties to respect due process and the rule of law at all times, and urged all to resort only to legal means to seek redress of any grievances emanating from the electoral process.

PANA reports that more than three million registered Togolese voted Thursday to elect the 91-seat parliament from the more than 1,100 candidates of the ruling party, opposition coalitions and 14 independent candidates.