Lome, 03 March, 2024 / 9:55 pm (ACI Africa).
Catholic Bishops in Togo are calling on stakeholders in the organization of legislative and regional elections in the country to ensure they are credible and peaceful.
Eligible voters in Togo are expected to take part in the election of 113 members of the National Assembly, alongside the first regional elections in the West African nation on April 20. President Faure Gnassingbé decided to postpone by one week the polls, from April 13 to April 20.
In a statement issued Friday, March 1 following their first ordinary session for 2024, members of the Episcopal Conference of Togo (CET) say, “Election periods generally rhyme with anxiety, worry and questioning due to suspicions, accusations of lack of transparency, irregularities, followed by violence with its dramatic consequences.’
“We the Bishops of Togo express the wish that the forthcoming legislative and regional elections take place in the best possible conditions,” CET members say.
They underscore the need for the elections to be credible and peaceful, saying, “Justice, fairness and transparency in the organization, conduct and proclamation of results from the ballot box are absolutely essential; for they are the guarantees of a serene electoral period.”
