Independent electoral commission set to take off

An opposition lawyer was designated chairman of Togo’s independent electoral commission on Saturday, ending a deadlock that had paralysed the institution, set up to help end a prolonged political crisis in the West African nation. Lack of agreement on who should head the 20-member body, evenly split between members of the opposition and the ruling Mouvance presidentielle (Presidential Bloc), had blocked it since its inauguration in early July. The opposition and the Mouvance presidentielle had decided in a mid-1999 framework agreement to set up the Commission electoral nationale independente (CENI). The designation of Ahoomey Zounon of the opposition Convergence patriotique panafricaine as its chairman was hailed by the Facilitators of the Inter-Togolese Dialogue - France, Germany, the European Union (EU) and la Francophonie. They said it marked “a new phase in the implementation of the framework agreement ... concluded on 29 July 1999”, according to information posted on the Republic of Togo website. They said it could also help mend relations between Togo and the EU, which suspended cooperation with Lome in 1993 because of obstacles to the country’s democratization process. The main bones of contention between the Mouvance presidentielle and the opposition include presidential elections in mid-1998, which the opposition charged were rigged.