/ 21 March 1999

LOW TURN-OUT IN TOGO VOTE

TURN-out appeared low as Togolese voters began casting their ballots on Sunday in legislative elections boycotted by the opposition to veteran President Gnassingbe Eyadema. The capital Lom, home to about one in five of the west African country’s 2,3-million eligible voters, witnessed short queues at the polling stations. Turn-out was especially low in Lom districts known to favour the opposition, which insists it was robbed in last year’s presidential election. Turn-out was greater in pro-government areas of the capital. With only the ruling Togolese People’s Assembly, two allied parties and a dozen independents standing, voter participation was the main issue in the polls to fill the National Assembly’s 81 seats from 106 candidates. The country’s main parliamentary opposition, the Action Committee for Renewal, which currently has 33 seats in the National Assembly, called on voters to stay away from the polls.