The Economic Community of the West African States ( ECOWAS) on Tuesday renewed confidence in the capacity of the Chairman of ECOWAS, Burkinabe President Blaise Compaoré, who is the facilitator in the management of the Togo crisis, "to quickly solve problems related to the authentication of the ballot papers".
While opposition parties led by the Union of the Forces of Change (UFC) want such an authentication, the ruling party, the Assembly of the Togolese People (RPT), describes it as illegal and unnecessary.In a statement, ECOWAS also called on all the political parties and their candidates to preserve the spirit of tolerance and concession that prevailed during the process that helped to settle many problems related to the orderly organisation of the 14 October legislative elections.
The regional organisation urged the political class and all the Togolese people to go to elections that would be free, transparent, peaceful and violence-free.
It also hailed the order that has prevailed over the period of the electoral campaign.
ECOWAS urged civilian and military observers "to be strictly neutral" and stressed that only the legally established institutions were empowered to publish results. It also urged the political parties and their candidates to accept the verdict of the ballot.
"In case of challenge, ECOWAS urges them to exclusively use the legal mechanisms and instruments provided by the law."
Over the past week, the issue of authenticating the ballot papers with the signatures of the chairman of the Electoral Commission and his rapporteurs has been marring the quiet atmosphere that had been prevailing since the beginning of the campaign.