Togo's presidential election kicks off

The flag of Togo pinned on the map. Horizontal orientation./Getty Images

Togo's presidential election kicked off on Saturday at 7 a.m. local time (0700 GMT).

Seven candidates, including the outgoing president Faure Gnassingbe, who has been in power since 2005 and is looking for a fourth term, compete for presidency.

Among the other candidates, the former Prime Minister and former President of the National Assembly Messan Agbeyome Kodjo and the former leader of the opposition Jean-Pierre Fabre present themselves as the real challengers.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, nearly 3.6 million voters, including 348 in the diaspora, registered on the electoral roll are expected to express their choice in 9,389 polling stations.

A security system Force Security Presidential Election (FOSEP-2020), comprising 10,000 police and gendarmerie elements, ensures the security of the electoral process.

Nearly twenty Togolese civil society organizations will deploy around 3,000 national observers across the country.

And 280 international observers, mostly from the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union will be deployed.

According to a decree adopted on December 2019 by the Council of Ministers of the Togolese government, the polling stations are closed at 4:00 p.m. local time throughout the national territory.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency