Poorf. Edmund Dele- CPP Chairman
The Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) on Monday commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for providing sub-regional leadership to mediate in the protracted socio-political unrest in Togo.
President Nana Akufo-Addo was in Togo to hold talks with all relevant stakeholders, including President Faure Gnassingbe and leaders of the main opposition political parties in the ongoing crisis in that country.
Professor Edmund Nminyem Delle, CPP Chairman and Leader, told Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the crisis in Togo is a ticking time bomb.
“If ECOWAS and for that matter Ghana, fails to intervene, it will explode to disrupt the relative political stability the sub-region is experiencing,” he noted.
Togo, in recent times, has witnessed a series of protests by opposition parties, who are calling for a return to the country’s constitution, which imposes limits on presidential terms.
Prof Delle in August 2017 appealed to the international community to pay attention to developments in Togo, stressing that “it could have been worse and could get worse if the international community failed to immediately intervene.”
The CPP chairman, who commended Ghana and President Akufo-Addo for the mediation efforts, renewed the call to ECOWAS, African Union (AU) and the international community to assist Togo to resolve its impending political upheaval.
The CPP leader suggested the creation of a platform for all political leaders, civil society organisations (CSOs), media, religious and traditional leaders, as well as democratic stakeholders in Togo to dialogue.
Prof Delle noted that even though demonstrations form part of a political weapon in a democratic process, democratic forces must avoid unbridled protests and violent pronouncements, which most often ignite hostilities, leading to the loss of precious lives, destruction of property and general insecurity.
The CPP chairman also appealed to President Gnassingbe and the leader of the main opposition, Tikpi Atchadam of the PNP party, to work together to strengthen democratic development in Togo.
Thousands of Togolese nationals since last August organised demonstrations in cities around the world, including north of the capital, Lome, where it turned deadly after clashes with security forces.
The demonstrations tagged, “Anti-Gnassingbe Dynasty Protests,” were organised by the opposition Pan African National Party (PNP) simultaneously in Accra, Libreville, New York and Berlin, demanding the reinstatement of the Togolese 1992 Constitution, which limits the term limit of the president.
The 1992 Constitution, which stipulates a two five-year term limit for a president, was set aside by the Togolese parliament to allow President Gnassingbe to contest election for the third term in 2015.
Besides the reinstatement of the constitution, Tikpi Atchadam told the media that they wanted to immediately end the Gnassingbe dynasty, which has ruled Togo for 50 years “from father to son. It’s like a family property and we are ready to resist that this time.”
GNA