TOGOLESE REPUBLIC
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 21 JUNE 1998
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Source: Africaonline website

Parties
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* CAR - Comité d'Action pour le Renouveau (Committee of Action for
   Renewal)
* CDPA - Convention Démocratique des Peuples Africaines (Democratic
   Convention of the Peoples of Africa)
* PDR - Parti pour la Démocratie et le Renouveau (Party for 
   Democracy and Renewal)
* RPT - Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais (Rally of the Togolaise
   People)
* UFC - Union des Forces de Changement (Union of Forces for Change)
* ULP - Union des Libéraux Indépendants (Union of Independent 
   Liberals)

NATIONAL SUMMARY
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Candidate                  Party        Votes
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Yawovi Agboyibo            CAR           149,308   09.5
Jacques Amouzou            ULI             6,358   00.3
Zarifou Ayeva              PDR            47,117   03.0
Gnassingbé EYADEMA *       RPT           813,313   52.1
Léopold Gnininvi           CDPA           12,637   00.8
Gilchrist Olympio          UFC           532,328   34.1
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Total                                  1,561,061
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This election was widely held to be fraudulent. The following is
one of several comments on the election.

STATEMENT OF GREGG HILTON 
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 
NATIONAL SECURITY CAUCUS FOUNDATION 
REGARDING THE JUNE, 1998 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 
IN THE REPUBLIC OF TOGO

The non-profit National Security Caucus Foundation sponsored an 
election observation mission to the Republic of Togo in June of 
1998. In addition to myself, the members of the delegation were 
NSCF President Robert Spiro [and] former Congressman Walter Fauntroy (D-DC).

For the most part the election process was handled fairly, but the 
results were a complete fraud because the Togo Army seized the 
ballot boxes and declared President Eyadema the winner with 52% of 
the vote. Not one outside observer was allowed to witness the 
alleged ballot counting. 

The NSCF mission was an important assignment because the Togolese 
people suffered for over two years to obtain their first supervised 
presidential election. Unfortunately, their suffering was in vain 
because the election was clearly stolen. This is the opinion of the 
majority of members of Togo's National Election Commission, the 
international press corps, the European Union, the State 
Department, the National Democratic Institute for International 
Affairs, former President Jimmy Carter and the U.S. Ambassador. 

I observed the burned ballot boxes and all of the guarantees the 
Eyadema government gave us prior to the election were broken. The 
harsh statement issued by State Department spokesman James Rubin 
was entirely justified and my personal experience I know it sent a 
strong message to the Togolese dictatorship. There is no hope that 
assistance will now be renewed by the U.S. Government or the 
European Union.