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Togo’s President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe has been re-elected for another five years in office, after polling more than 58.75 percent of the votes in the presidential election, according to preliminary results released on Tuesday.
According to the country’s electoral body, CENI, the ruling party, Union for the Republic Party candidate Faure polled 58.75 percent of the votes, while opposition Combat for Political Alternative in 2015 (CAP2015) alliance candidate Jean-Pierre Fabre polled 34.95 percent.
The commission’s head, Taffa Tabiou, said “The national electoral commission states that Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe has been elected based on provisional results which are subject to confirmation by the Constitutional Court”.
The commission will soon transmit the provisional results to the Constitutional Court, which is responsible for examining appeals and electoral disputes before proclaiming the final results.
Gnassingbe came to power in April 2005, following special election after the death of his father General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ran Togo from 1967 till his death in 2005.
Gnassingbe was reelected in 2010 with 60.89 percent of the votes.