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LOME, Togo (AP) - The son of Togo's longtime dictator has been elected to succeed him as leader of this impoverished West African country, officials said Tuesday - an outcome that sparked street fights between security forces and opposition supporters who burned barricades in the capital. Faure Gnassingbe, 39, won 60 per cent, or 1.3 million, of the votes cast in Sunday's violence-scarred election, said electoral commission chairwoman Kissem Tchangai Walla. Main opposition candidate Bob Akitani received 38 per cent, or 841,000 votes, she said. "I'm very happy with these results," said Komi Koassou, campaign director for Gnassingbe's party....

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] LOME, 22 Apr 2005 (IRIN) - The holding of presidential elections in Togo on Sunday is in doubt following a surprise call by the interior minister for the controversial poll to be suspended to prevent the West African country from degenerating into bloody conflict. Interior Minister Francois Boko told a late night press conference on Thursday that Togo was heading for a “suicidal electoral process” given the high levels of violence which have marked the campaign so far. Boko, who is in charge of internal security,...

After beggaring his people and basking in the plaudits of Paris for almost four decades, the last of West Africa's Francophone tyrants died at the weekend, bringing to an inglorious end an era of Machiavellian French statecraft. President Gnassingbé Eyadema of Togo, who gloried in France's "special relationship" with Africa, suffered a heart attack at the age of 69, hours before he was due to leave his tiny domain for Paris. Mr Eyadema was Africa's longest-serving despot and dominated Togo from the moment that he seized power in 1967. Thereafter, he styled himself "Le Guide", murdered his opponents, hounded thousands...

Gnassingbe Eyadema, the President of Togo, who has died aged 69, was not only Africa’s longest serving leader, sustaining himself in power through tyranny; he also had the dubious distinction of pioneering that continent’s first military coup d’etat, a trend that caught on swiftly and blighted the first 25 years of the post-colonial era.Eyadema was a 31-year-old army sergeant when he first seized power in January 1967 although, as self-appointed leader of a group of rebellious former French Foreign Legionnaires, he was widely held to have played a personal role in the assassination of Togo’s first president, Sylvanus Olympio, four...

THE African Union yesterday accused army commanders in the West African state of Togo of staging a military coup following the death of the president, Gnassingbe Eyadema, by imposing Eyadema’s son, Faure, as the new head of state. Gnassingbe Eyadema, 69, who died of a heart attack on Saturday, came to power himself in a military coup and led his tiny, impoverished country - just over two-thirds the size of Scotland - for 38 years, making him the world’s longest-serving ruler after Cuba’s Fidel Castro. He was one of the last of Africa’s so-called "Big Men". A general when he...

LOME, Togo - The president of Togo, Africa's longest-ruling leader, died Saturday as he was being rushed to Europe for treatment of a heart attack, officials said. His son was named the new leader. President Gnassingbe Eyadema, 69, suffered a heart attack early Saturday in his hometown of Piya in southeastern Togo and later died, said Barry Moussa Barkue, special adviser to the president. Hours later, Togo's military high command announced on state television that Eyadema's son, Faure Gnassingbe, is the West African nation's new president. According to Togo's constitution, the speaker of parliament, Fanbare Tchaba, succeeds the president...

Lome, Togo — Africa's longest-reigning ruler, military-backed Togo President Gen. Gnassingbe Eyadema, was declared winner Wednesday of questioned presidential elections in the west African nation. Communication Minister Eitanga Tchalla hailed "a victory for democracy in Togo." Opposition parties promised to challenge Sunday's presidential election, which leading international election observers boycotted on the grounds that the vote's setup made a fair outcome unlikely. Mr. Eyadema received 57.32 per cent of the vote Sunday, while opposition leader Bob Akitani, the top challenger among five other contenders, received 34.14 per cent, Togo's national election commission said. The results were announced with Mr. Akitani...