Olympio barred from presidential elections

Togo's best known opposition leader, Gilchrist Olympio, has been declared ineligible to contest presidential elections on 1 June because of technical ommissions in his candidacy papers. On Thursday, Togo's Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) published a list of seven candidates who met all the criteria to run for the presidency in Togo, a former German colony. Olympio, often referred to as the "historic opponent" of President Gnassingbe Eyadema was the only candidate barred from running. "CENI (Independent National Electoral Commission) denied the candidature of the leader of the UFC because two documents were missing from his dossier: the confirmation of residence certificate which we submitted, but which it said was not accepted, and the proof of up to date tax payments that we also presented", Jean-Pierre Fabre,the secretary general of Olympio's party, the Union of Forces for Change (UFC), told IRIN on Friday. "We are going to appeal before the Constitutional Court but we do not expect much because the Court will not uphold the law", he added. There were indications earlier this week that Olympio would be banned from running against Eyadema, who has ruled Togo for 36 years, when the head of tax services said the opposition leader did not have any "taxable revenue" in Togo. Olympio, the son of Togo's first president Sylvanus Olympio, has lived in neighbouring Ghana since falling out with President Eyadema several years ago. "You pay taxes in the country where you live and have activities, not the contrary, Fabre said. Eyadema, who siezed power in a 1967 coup, had originally promised not to seek re-election this year. However,a constitutional ammendment, introduced in December 2002 and vehemently denounced by the opposition as an "electoral hold-up", has paved the way for him to seek a fresh term. The other presidential candidates are: Nicholas Lawson, an independent; Leopold Gnininvi of the Democratic Convention of African Peoples; Edem Kodjo of the African Patriotic Convergence; Dahuru Pere of the Socialist Renewal Pact; Yawovi Agboyibo of the Action Committee for Renewal, and Emmanuel Akitani-Bob of the Party of Forces for Change.