The stage has been set for Agbeyome Kodjo to face an internal criminal investigations department in Togo, after challenging the results of the February 22nd polls that ended with the re-election of the incumbent president, Faure Gnassingbe.
According to Foreign Brief, Kodjo, who had participated in the presidential elections which took place earlier in the year, is scheduled to appear before the department on allegations which include: threatening public order, spreading false news and undermining state security by contesting the elections’ result and proclaiming himself the rightful president in the wake of the election.
Election Result and Court Ruling
The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) in Togo declared Gnassingbe the winner of the presidential election with 72.36 per cent of the votes cast. The election monitoring body placed Kodjo second with 18.37 percent of the votes. However, Kodjo insisted that he was the true winner of the elections alleging widespread fraud and manipulation including ballot stuffing and the use of fake polling stations in favour of his rival.
Kodjo eventually filed a suit before the country’s Constitutional Court, contesting the election results. “We expect the court to annul the false results published by CENI,” he said.
Supporting Kodjo’s suit, former archbishop of the capital Lome and political commentator, Phillipe Kpodzro had described the elections as a “farce,” calling on citizens of the country to “wake up and show determination for change.”
The court, however, ruled in favour of Gnassingbe, who benefits from recent legislation that limits the president to two five-year terms which wipe off his slate, allowing for a potential rule until 2030.
Repercussions
Following the Court ruling, the parliament in Togo stripped Kodjo of his immunity as a member of the upper house, paving the way for him to face criminal charges for disputing the re-election of President Gnassingbe. Likewise, former archbishop Kpodzro has also been placed under house arrest after calling for nationwide protests against the election result.
