Opposition leaders in Togo call for protests
LOME, Togo, March 28, (AP): Activists and opposition leaders in the West African country of Togo called on Wednesday for protests to stop the country’s president from signing off on a new constitution that would scrap future presidential elections and could extend his decades-long rule until 2031.
The constitution, which was passed by the country’s lawmakers earlier this week but now awaits President
final approval, grants parliament the power to choose the president, doing away with direct elections. This makes it likely that Gnassingbe would be reelected when his mandate expires in 2025.
Some legal experts say the constitution actually restricts the power of future presidents as it introduces a one-term limit and hands over greater power to a figure similar to a prime minister. But opposition fears the role - officially, the president of the council of ministers - could become another avenue for Gnassingbe to extend his grip on power.
The new constitution also increases presidential terms from five to six years. The almost 20-years that Gnassingbe has served in office, after taking over from his father, would not count toward that tally.
The opposition and the clergy say the legislation is an effort by Gnassingbe to prolong his rule. Some have promised to stop it from becoming law by calling on the people to rise up and protest.
“We know that the struggle will be long and hard, but together with the Togolese people, we will do everything we can to prevent this constitutional coup d’état,” said Eric Dupuy, a spokesman for the opposition National Alliance for Change party.
Faure Gnassingbe’s
”We’re calling on the population to reject this, to oppose it massively,” he added.
However, police on Wednesday broke up a news conference called by the opposition, throwing leaders and journalists out of the venue.
A group representing Togo’s Catholic bishops said the parliament’s mandate had expired in December ahead of the country’s April 20 parliamentary elections and that the lawmakers had no right to adopt a new constitution.
The bishops urged Gnassingbe to delay signing off on the new constitution and instead engage in an inclusive political dialogue after next month’s balloting.
“The Assembly has no power to revise a constitution,” said Zeus Ajavon, a lecturer in Constitutional Law at the University of Lome. “The power to revise the constitution is vested in it during its term of office.”
❑❑❑ ‘Security in Congo’s east deteriorating’:
Security in Congo’s mineral-rich east has deteriorated since recent elections, with a rebel group allegedly linked to neighboring Rwanda making “significant advances and expanding its territory,” the UN special envoy for the conflict-wracked African nation said Wednesday.
told the UN Security Council this has created “an even more disastrous humanitarian situation, with internal displacement reaching unparalleled numbers.”
Last month, the United States told Rwanda and Congo that they “must walk back from the brink of war,” the sharpest warning yet of a looming conflict.
US deputy ambassador Robert Wood again condemned “the aggressive military incursion” into eastern Congo by the M23 rebel group and the Rwandan Defense Force and attacks including on U.N. peacekeepers.
He called on the leaders of Rwanda and Congo “to make the decision to pursue peace - for the sake of their people, the region and the world.”
Wood described M23 as “a group which has perpetrated appalling human rights abuses against civilians, including sexual and gender-based violence.”
He called the international community’s failure to condemn the actions of Rwanda, which is a major troop contributor to UN peacekeeping forces, “dismaying” and said “the UN should reevaluate Rwanda’s credibility as a constructive partner in peacekeeping.”
Bintou Keita ❑❑❑ Senegal’s Faye won over 54% of vote:
Senegal’s little-known opposition figure who was elected president this week in a tightly contested race won over 54% of the votes, according to results released on Wednesday.
The presidential election on Sunday marked a stunning victory for 44-year-old who was freed from prison less than two weeks ago and is now due to be the youngest leader of the West African nation.
The government-backed candidate, former Prime Minister conceded to Faye on Monday. President who had backed Ba, also declared Faye the winner.
At a news conference in Dakar, the court of appeals announced Wednesday that Faye won 54.28% of the vote. Ba garnered 35.47% of the votes cast.
The results are preliminary - after all the votes have been counted - but are expected to be confirmed on Friday.
Faye’s release from prison followed a political amnesty granted just in time for the balloting. He was little known until popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who was barred barred from running due to a prior conviction, chose Faye to run in his place.
In his first speech as president-elect, Faye promised to fight corruption and reform the economy.
Amadou Ba, Macky Sall, Reject Bassirou Diomaye Faye, ❑❑❑ Nigeria parents get chance to see kids:
Parents of more than 130 Nigerian schoolchildren who were rescued after more than two weeks in captivity said they saw them on Wednesday and that they couldn’t hold back tears of joy during the long-awaited reunion.
The meeting, three days after the children were freed, took place at a government facility in the city of Kaduna, where the children are staying while receiving medical support, the parents and a teacher told The Associated Press.
The parents said they cried and danced as they hugged their children for the first time since March 7, when motorcycle-riding gunmen seized them from their school in the remote town of Kuriga in the northwestern Kaduna state, and forced them to march to nearby forests amid gunfire.
“I am very happy and filled with joy,” Shittu Abdullahi, whose 14-year-old daughter was among those kidnapped, said after the meeting.
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