Military

DATE=06/01/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=TOGO/ELECTIONS (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-303851

BYLINE=NICO COLOMBANT

DATELINE=LOME

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Voters in Togo are going to the polls today (Sunday) to choose between five opposition candidates and Africa's longest ruling leader, Gnassingbe Eyadema. V-O-A's Nico Colombant reports from Lome.

TEXT: President Eyadema who has been in power since a coup in 1967 campaigned on a platform of peace and stability.

He said only he can prevent Togo from spiraling into a civil war like nearby countries Liberia and Ivory Coast.

The long-time president had promised to step down this year, but constitutional changes in December allowed him to seek a third five-year term. The changes prevented his main political adversary, exiled opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio, from participating in the vote because of new residency requirements.

Five opposition candidates have been allowed to run including Emmanuel Akitani Bob, a long-time activist who has the support of Mr. Olympio.

Whoever gets the most votes will win the election, regardless of whether he tallies more than 50 percent of the vote.

Opposition leaders say it's time for a change after 36 years in power for Mr. Eyadema, but they fear authorities will rig the elections in his favor.

/// OPT //// The spokesman for Mr. Akitani Bob alleges authorities have already burned thousands of ballots cast by soldiers because they voted for the opposition.

/// FABRE ACT IN FRENCH FADED UNDER ///

Mr. Fabre says the ballots were found at government offices in the capital.

The Interior Minister, Francois Boko, says the burned ballots are fakes, and that the opposition is trying to manipulate public opinion.

The interior ministry is looking over the whole election process, from security to vote counting. There are more than three million eligible voters, but some residents in Lome, an opposition stronghold, complained they couldn't get their voting cards in the days leading up to the election.

Nearly 200 international election observers, mainly from Africa, are monitoring the vote. The European Union and the U-S based National Democratic Institute refused to send representatives after Togo's government denied them permission to send delegations before the vote took place. (SIGNED)

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