/ 23 March 1999

RULING PARTY SWEEPS TOGO POLL

TOGO’s ruling party has captured all but one parliamentary seat of those so far tabulated, according to official election results released on Tuesday. The main issue in Sunday’s election, boycotted by opposition parties, was voter turn-out and the apparent level of support for President Gnassingbe Eyadema. Eyadema’s Togolese People’s Assembly garnered 58 out of 59 seats in the 81-seat national assembly, the national electoral commission (CEN) said. According to the CEN, turn-out was estimated at an average 76,2% across 26 districts for which votes have been tallied. The opposition disputes the high figure, saying that the turn-out could not have been any more than 10%.