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