WARN
Policy Brief - Togo
February 11, 2005
Transitional
Crisis in Togo: Constitutional
Violation & Unequivocal Stance of International Community
Introduction
In
one of our situational analyses in June 2003, we predicted that "…Despite
his earlier
concession to opposition pressure to step down at the end of the last
mandate and contrary to constitutional provisions, President Eyadema
rescinded his promise, changed the constitution to his liking, and rigged
the elections for another mandate… The only lesson Eyadema seems to
have taken from his somewhat brief mediating role in the Cote d'Ivoire
conflict was perhaps the desire to die in power in much the same way
as Houphouet-Boigny." This prediction has unveiled.
Barely
hours after the official announcement of the death of Africa's longest
serving head of state (and pioneer putsch leader) Gnassingbe Eyadema
of Togo on Saturday February 5, 2005, the Togolese army swiftly undertook
a series of Constitutional violations including the appointment and
installation of Faure Gnassingbe as the new Togolese strongman. The
Constitution stipulated that in case of vacancy of the Presidency, the
Speaker of Parliament assumes the office of the President and organizes
elections within sixty (60) days. In the same precipitated fashion,
the military went ahead to convene a session of parliament and 'voted'
Faure Gnassingbe as Speaker of Parliament, in yet another coup against
parliament. Fambare Natchaba Ouattara, the Speaker of Parliament who
was abroad was forced to seek refuge in neighbouring Benin. The
new junta warned of terrible consequences on those who dare to express
dissatisfaction and banned demonstration for two months.
The
international community qualified the Constitutional machinations as
nothing short of a military coup that must not be tolerated. The reaction
of the international community, especially the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS), Africa Union (AU), International Organization
of the Francophonie, European Commission, and United Nations has been
uncompromising and firm. Constitutional legality must be respected and
re-established.
This
policy brief highlight the stakes in the Togolese Constitutional crisis
and lessons to draw; upholds the stance of the international community
but cautions against deception, risk of implosion and type of sanctions
anticipated; envisions possible scenarios in the coming weeks and months
and proposes options for response.
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