Togo leader to step down, seek Presidency

[UrbScotty]

LOME, Togo - President Faure Gnassingbe, facing mounting international pressure since the Togo's military installed him as leader three weeks ago, announced late Friday he was stepping down and would seek the presidency in April elections.

Gnassingbe resigned just hours after accepting his party's nomination for the presidential bid. He said parliament would name an interim leader to serve until an elected president takes office.

"I've taken the decision to step down from the office of president in the interest of Togo," he said on state radio. He added the decision would "guarantee transparency and offer an equal chance to all the other candidates."

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050226/ap_on_re_af/togo

[gottaB]

1. Positive development, but Abass Bonfoh looks like a stooge

[struggle4progress]

2. Togo leader steps down, nations lift sanctions

Associated Press

LOME, Togo — West African leaders lifted sanctions against Togo after its military-installed president stepped down, but the African Union warned the government Saturday it must ensure that upcoming presidential elections are fair and transparent.

The presidents of Niger, Benin, Ghana, Mali and Nigeria will meet in Lome, the Togolese capital, on Monday to discuss the April election and ways to strengthen democracy in the country, the Economic Community of West African States, known as ECOWAS, said in a statement on Saturday.

President Faure Gnassingbe, 39, announced his resignation late Friday after being installed by the military Feb. 5 when his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, died in office after ruling the country for 38 years. <snip>

It was not immediately clear if the AU now would lift sanctions, but the 53-nation organization said Togo had "cleared the path for a return to constitutional order." <snip>

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1109429194067_67/?hub=World

[MIScott87]

3. Perhaps G.W. could take a cue from the Third World?

Maybe he can step down for America's best interest?

[txdude10]

4. This information comes handy...

I was actually updating a military rule variable in a dataset that my colleague and I are using for a professional conference article titled "Correlates of Human Rights Violations in Africa" when I took a break and saw this posting.

Who says DU doesn't provide the latest in national and international news?

Now, in regard to the news itself, I, as a native of Africa, view this as a positive step in the political development of the continent. It seems, finally, that my people and their leaders are finally waking up to the reality that however messy is democracy, military or one-party rule is no substitute.