DECLARATION ON

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN TOGO

The ACP Committee of Ambassadors,

Recalling that all parties concerned, including the Togolese opposition initially welcomed the actions of ECOWAS to support the organization of the presidential election Togo within the timeframe specified by the Togolese Constitution of 1992, as amended in 2002,

Welcoming the European Union’s assistance to ECOWAS in the supervision of the presidential election of 24 April 2005, that facilitated the leadership role that ECOWAS played in the elections,

Considering the appeal launched by H. E. Mr. Mamadou TANDJA, President of the Republic of Niger and President-in-Office of ECOWAS, asking all parties to refrain from taking any action or making any statements which could create or maintain a climate of violence, unrest or tension before, during, or after the election held on 24 April 2005,

Recalling the terms of the ECOWAS statement adopted in Niamey on 20 April 2005, sanctioning the consultation meeting of the representatives of the political parties involved in the presidential election in Togo which stressed, inter alia, the need for all the parties to pledge to accept the official results of the elections following the voting process,

Considering the joint statement of the observer missions to the presidential election, prepared by ECOWAS and 26 other institutions, including the ACP Group, as well as the subsequent declarations by ECOWAS and the African Union on the validity of the presidential election of 24 April 2005 as well as the various declarations from ECOWAS and the African Union on the validity of the Togolese presidential election held in on 24 April 2005, which unanimously concluded that the election had generally been conducted in accordance with the criteria and principles universally accepted for elections, despite a few anomalies and irregularities observed which, nonetheless, were not likely to tarnish the credibility of the elections,

Bearing in mind, that at its 774^th meeting it endorsed the report of the ACP Group’s observer mission that confirmed the regularity of the election,

Considering the preliminary results of the presidential election announced by the National Independent Electoral Commission and the definitive results as determined by the Togolese Constitutional Court, which declared Mr. Faure GNASSINGBE the winner of the presidential election of 24 April 2005,

Deploring the violence that followed the announcement of the election results and which resulted in injury and death;

Condemning the acts of intimidation and aggression committed against Togolese citizens, West Africans and foreigners;

Firmly condemning the acts of violence and vandalism perpetrated throughout Togo against civilians and property, including the German Cultural Centre -  the Goethe Institute in Lomé - and strongly urging the Togolese Authorities to investigate and clarify these reprehensible acts and protect the lives and property of foreigners residing in Togo;

1.         Firmly supports the ECOWAS position and that of the other institutions that have recognised the validity of the presidential election from Mr. Faure GNASSINGBE emerged victorious;

2.         Strongly urges all the parties concerned to exercise the utmost restraint in the interest of peace and national reconciliation

3.         Calls on Togo’s entire political class to heed the solemn appeal launched on 25 April 2005 by H.E. Mr. Olusegun OBASANJO, President-in-Office of the African Union, calling on all the Political Parties to form a Government of National Unity with a view to working together to build a stable, democratic Togo;

4.         Welcomes the actions undertaken by the Togolese Authorities to improve the electoral framework in view of the upcoming local and general elections, in conformity with the undertakings made during consultations with the EU;

5.         Vehemently deplores the very subjective positions adopted by some European Deputies during the 9^th session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Bamako who were already casting doubt on the regularity of the presidential election even before it took place on 24 April 2005;

6.         Expresses deep concern regarding the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 12 May 2005 that comes at a time when the situation in Togo is just returning to normal, and which could lead to instability in Togo and the West African sub-region; 

7.         Calls on the International Community, particularly the European Union, to refrain from taking any action that could jeopardise the efforts for national reconciliation by calling into question the results of the presidential election of 24 April 2005, as recognised by ECOWAS, the AU, and the ACP Group of States, and other countries;

8.         Calls on the European Union to strive towards resuming cooperation with Togo on the basis of an objective evaluation of the implementation of the undertakings made by that country in April 2004;

9.         Re-affirms its firm commitment to assist the Togolese people in their efforts to consolidate, in peace and security, the democratic process and rule of law necessary to its development;

10.       Calls on ECOWAS, the African Union, the European Union, OIF, and the United Nations to do everything possible to assist Togo in this post-electoral phase, both at the political and economic level.

Done in Brussels on 13 May 2005