The father was Africa's longest-reigning dictator, ordered his enemies executed, and claimed to be chosen by God.
Now the son is running for president of Togo in a weekend vote already shadowed by violence, with protesters threatening to die fighting if the family of the late dictator Gnassingbe Eyadema maintains its stranglehold on this tiny, impoverished west African country. As tension mounts, Togolese were praying for peace and hoping for democracy.
Togo's interim head of state on Friday vowed the elections will go ahead, and fired a minister who had called for the ballot to be canceled because of fears of bloodshed.
PHOTO: EPA
Some 2.2 million people in this nation of 5 million are registered to vote during the 6am to 6pm polling taking place today. Counting was to start immediately, but it was unclear when results would be announced.
The front-runner is Faure Gnassingbe, whose strongman father Gnassingbe Eyadema ruled for 38 years -- longer than any other leader except Fidel Castro.
Eyadema died of a heart attack Feb. 5, ending an oppressive era in which political foes were routinely tortured and killed, dissent was crushed by jackboot security forces and spies prowled the dust-blown boulevards and halls of university campuses.
Togo's military thrust Gnassingbe to power shortly after Eyadema's death, prompting such local and international outrage he stepped down and promised elections in 60 days, as stipulated by the Constitution.
Gnassingbe's three rivals in the race -- Bob Akitani, Harry Olympio and Nicolas Lawson, all longtime opposition members -- have called for the elections to be postponed, charging irregularities in voter registration and exclusion from the electoral process. Their concerns, though, have not prompted them to withdraw.
In the run-up to the vote, riot police have been accused of killing several anti-regime demonstrators. The government recently banned all private TV and radio stations from covering the elections.
On Friday, as questions over whether the vote could go ahead raised tensions, opposition protesters appeared on the streets, wielding machetes and nail-studded clubs.
Gnassingbe is backed by the military and has his father's political machine at his disposal. And as a candidate, his style seems to mimic that of his father, who kept his pinky fingernail aristocratically long and wore expensive suits and gold-rimmed sunglasses.
Gnassingbe -- a businessman educated at George Washington University in the US -- prefers tailored suits and expensive shoes. He buzzed between rallies in a rented white helicopter, unlike his main rival, the 75-year old Akitani, who campaigned in tropical shirts and traversed the country in a four-wheel drive.
Despite the echoes of his father, Gnassingbe presents himself to voters as a modern technocrat, with the youthful energy and fresh ideas it takes to bring reform in a nation where the average annual income is US$270, making it among the poorest in Africa.
"I am the new image of Togolese youth, the new image of Togo," 39-year old Gnassingbe said on a recent campaign stop in the southern town of Keve.
"I'm going to take this country to the next level," he declares. "More freedom, more democracy. It's the only way we can solve our problems."
For Gnassingbe to be taken seriously abroad, he has to escape his father's tall, ominous shadow. But at home, some observers say, Gnassingbe has a real shot at winning the vote if elections are fair.
Even some in the opposition have said Akitani, the main opponent, is too old to lead Togo into a the future.
Gnassingbe has been treated almost like a deity as he campaigned in Togo's forested interior. Speakers line up to praise him as a "unifier" and village elders in gilded crowns bow to him.
"Demonstrations and violence will not give us solutions," said Fousse Blaise, 40, after listening to Gnassingbe promise hospitals, a new town market and a peaceful election day at one rally. "We need jobs and peace, and Faure is the one promising this change.
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Packed crowds in India celebrating their cricket team’s victory ended in a deadly stampede on Wednesday, with 11 mainly young fans crushed to death, the local state’s chief minister said. Joyous cricket fans had come out to celebrate and welcome home their heroes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after they beat Punjab Kings in a roller-coaster Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket final on Tuesday night. However, the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra calling it “absolutely heartrending.” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the deceased are young, with 11 dead
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a
RSS