Nairobi - Votes were being counted on Monday after a violent end to Sundays presidential elections in Togo.

After a calm day of voting in the tiny West African nation, violence erupted as the polling stations were closing at dusk.

The British Broadcasting Corporation reported that opposition supporters, worried about attempted manipulation of the vote counting, gathered at polling stations to check for themselves the handling of the ballot boxes.

Armed police used teargas to disperse the crowds, resulting in riots during which opposition supporters set up road blocks and set fire to tyres.

Reports from hospitals said several people had come in during the evening with gunshot wounds. Other, unconfirmed, reports said at least three people had been killed during the clashes.

The situation in the Togolese capital Lome was however said to be calm early on Monday as the counting of votes commenced.

The regional body Ecowas, which had sent election observers to Togo, said there were reports of some irregularities from some polling stations, but added that reports from other stations said the voting had been concluded without any interference.

The opposition however maintained that the vote was being rigged, and that the result could not be considered fair.

The man widely expected to win the election, the late president's son Faure Gnassingbe, said in a radio interview that the oppositions claim of fraud was nothing but a tactic they wanted to be able to use in case they lost the vote.

Gnassingbe also told the American National Public Radio (NPR) that he saw himself as the candidate for a new generation, and that if he won, he would promote democracy and economic development in his country.

The events leading up to Sundays poll has put Togo under the international spotlight during the past few months.

In February, Togo's president Gnassingbe Eyadema died after 38 years in power. Just a few hours later, the army installed his son Faure in his place, while hindering the lawful interim leader, the speaker of the parliament, from re-entering the country after a trip abroad.

The parliament then voted to amend the constitution in order to legitimise the military's move and secure Gnassingbe's power until 2008, when his fathers term would have finished.

But the move caused an outcry from the international community, with the African Union calling it a military coup and suspending Togo, and Ecowas imposing sanctions.

A few weeks after his ascent to power, Faure Gnassingbe agreed to step down, and announced elections would be held. Shortly thereafter, he said he would stand as the candidate for the ruling party.

The most prominent opposition leader, Gilchrist Olympio, was barred from running as he has lived in exile in France for many years. The opposition candidate, 75-year-old Emmanuel Bob-Akitani, has been portrayed by the ruling party as old and stuck in the past.

During the weekend before the elections, there were violent clashes in Lome between ruling party and opposition supporters, resulting in at least seven deaths. As many as 150 people were injured.

Last week, interim President Abbas Bonfoh dismissed interior minister Francois Boko who had called for the election to be postponed for fear of further clashes.

The official results of the elections were not expected for another few days.

In a statement, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan appealed to the parties for calm pending the official results, and urged them to refer any electoral disputes to the appropriate authorities. - Sapa-dpa

Published on the Web by IOL on 2005-04-25 10:10:31