TOGOLESE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OPENS; OPPOSITION

UNCLAS LOME 000804 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS PARIS FOR BOB KANEDA, ACCRA FOR USAID/WA RICHARD SALAZAR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KDEM PGOV TO SUBJECT: TOGOLESE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OPENS; OPPOSITION PARTICIPATES REF: LOME 784 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. The newly-elected Togolese National Assembly (see reftel) held its first session on Tuesday, November 13, with all elected members attending. Notably, the Union for the Forces of Change (UFC),the largest opposition party, took its seats, marking the first time it has ever participated in the legislature. Speculation continues in the local press about who will be elected Speaker of the National Assembly; the vote is scheduled for November 23. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) The official roll call for the first session of the Togolese National Assembly confirmed that all 81 newly-elected members of the body, including six women (one more than in the outgoing legislature),were present. All members of the UFC, which won 27 seats in the October 14 elections, participated despite fears that it might boycott due to its complaints about the results verification process and disappointment with the disproportionate number of seats it had won relative to its popular vote. (Note. The UFC received 38% of the popular vote yet only one-third of the seats, while its principal rival, the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT),received 40% of the popular vote and 62 percent of the total, or 50 seats. End Note.) The UFC, led by Gilchrist Olympio, signed the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in 2006 that led to the party's participation in the legislative elections. However, the UFC did not subsequently participate in the national unity government that was formed to help organize elections. ¶3. (SBU) Speculation over who will be elected by the Assembly as its new speaker has focused heavily on Kpatcha Gnassingbe, the current Minister of Defense and half-brother of President Faure. Kpatcha has repeatedly denied that he is seeking the post, despite his popularity within the reinvigorated conservative wing of the RPT. It is widely believed that President Faure's preferred candidate from the RPT, over which he presides, is Charles Agba, the current Minister of Health and a relative moderate. ¶4. (SBU) While the press has not focused much attention on who will be chosen the next Prime Minister, there has been speculation that President Faure wishes to appoint someone from the opposition. Mr. Leopold Gnininvi, the current Minister of Mines and Energy and leader of the Democratic Convention of the African People (CDPA),which did not win a single seat in the National Assembly, and Mr. Yawovi Agboyibo, leader of the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR), are reportedly under consideration by the President. Agboyibo was the Prime Minister under the GPA; his resignation was officially accepted by President Faure on November 13. (Note. He will continue to serve in an interim capacity until a new government is appointed. End Note.) Gilchrist Olympio told Ambassador Dunn in a meeting in Paris on November 9 (septel) that the UFC will not join the government unless his party receives the position of Prime Minister. Given the ongoing bad blood between the RPT and the UFC, this is considered unlikely. ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT. People are watching these appointments carefully and see them as signs of the GoT's commitment to maintaining the reform process that was launched with the signing of the GPA. Kpatcha in particular is controversial as he is seen as much like his father, the deceased President and longtime dictator Gnassingbe Eyadema. Also, under Togolese law, if anything happens to the President, the Speaker becomes the interim President until elections are held. END COMMENT. DUNN