TOGOLESE COURT BACKS GNASSINGBE IN CONTESTED POLL WIN

Togolese court backs Gnassingbe in contested poll win

March 19, 2010 05:40AM
Togo's Constitutional Court, on Thursday, confirmed incumbent President, Faure Gnassingbe's victory in the March 4 election which opposition leaders said was rigged. Sporadic demonstrations erupted in Togo's capital after the results of the vote were announced on March 6, although the protests were mostly peaceful.

The election was widely seen as a test for democracy in the region, following a coup in Niger and violent protests over delayed polls in Ivory Coast.

Post-election violence in Togo's 2005 poll, which allowed Gnassingbe to succeed his father after nearly four decades of dictatorship, killed as many as 500 people.