Opposition legislators boycotted the opening of Togo's parliamentary year to protest the re-election of President Faure Gnassingbe.
Only 50 ruling RPT members were in the 81 seat parliament at Tuesday's opening ceremony.
Twenty-seven deputies of the opposition Union of Forces for Change (UFC) and four from the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR) boycotted the ceremony.
"We decided not to participate in this ceremony to show our disapproval at the way the electoral process was conducted and the manner the protests were repressed," Isabelle Ameganvi, a UFC vice president, said.
Gnassingbe took 60.88% of votes cast in the March 4 poll, according to official results.
The UFC presidential candidate, Jean-Pierre Fabre, who won 33.93% of votes, has rejected the victory of Gnassingbe.
Fabre claims to have won between 55% and 60% of the ballots.
The main opposition coalition Republican Front for Change (FRAC), which supported Fabre, has staged several protests in Lome to denounce the poll results. Security agents used tear gas to disperse some marches.
Photo : Abbas Bonfoh, speaker of the National Assembly
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