Rawlings: Ensure Free & Fair Elections In Togo

Former President of Ghana Jerry John Rawlings has called on the international community and civil society organisations to support Togo to organise free, fair and peaceful elections. He said he had confidence in the ability of President Faure Gnassingbe to organise credible elections because of the assurances he had received from him anytime they met. A statement issued from the Office of the former president said he was speaking at a two-hour meeting with a women's delegation from Togo led by a Member of Parliament, Madam Isabelle Ameganvi. He called on all stakeholders in the forthcoming elections to ensure that it thrived in an atmosphere of peace and respect for the rule of law. The statement said former President Rawlings appealed to all involved to ensure the establishment of bodies with integrity to oversee the electoral process to enable all parties to respect the ultimate outcome. "In spite of the challenges confronting him (President Gnassingbe) there exists a wonderful opportunity for him to live above board to win the confidence of the international community and the good people of Togo by doing away with acts that could undermine the integrity of the electoral process," former President Rawlings said. Madam Amengavi briefed the former president on the situation in Togo and called on him to help support the smooth organisation of the election by using his influence as a respected statesman in the region to promote peace and security through the establishment of a Togo-Ghana joint commission to monitor and manage the security situation in the run-up to the election. She said previous elections had been characterised by violence and an atmosphere of fear and intimidation and it was imperative that the forthcoming election was incident free so voters would not be scared away from the polling stations. Source: GNA