Togo election: President’s camp claims victory, challenger disagreeshttps://t.co/KLb40DdtjI
— The Punch Newspapers (@MobilePunch) February 23, 2020
[PUNCHNG] Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe on Thursday insisted he was not a "dictator", days before an election in which he is aiming to extend his family’s decades-long domination over the West African nation. The incumbent looks set to claim a fourth term in power, as the country of 8 million goes to the polls on Saturday after the constitution was changed to allow Gnassingbe to run again.
Critics say the vote will not be fair as the opposition has faced a crackdown to snuff out a wave of protests.
However,
women are made to be loved, not understood...
Gnassingbe told AFP in a joint interview with Le Monde newspaper that such accusations were "more due to reputation than reality".
"Sometimes these statements and opinions are exaggerated ‐ in any case, I don’t feel like a dictator," he said.
The president took over in 2005 after the death of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled for 38 years after seizing power in a coup.
"I can’t change my name," the current leader said.
"I don’t think that my being his son should be a reason for exclusion."
Gnassingbe said he was "calm and confident" of securing a knockout victory in the first round of the polls.
The opposition has failed to stick together since rocking the country’s ruling clan with huge protests in 2017 and 2018.