During the 2005 presidential elections, which were largely contested by the international community, Faure Gnassingbe was elected president. In order to prevent a similar situation as the one experienced in 2005, which included election violence resulting in numerous deaths, observers from various organizations banded together for the presidential elections of 2010. For the most part they were Togolese nationals (around 8000); there were also about 400 observers from the international community.
The national observers were essentially coordinated by the United Nations. The UNDP (United Nations Development Program) managed 3000 locals from the main Togolese NGOs. The HCHR (High Commissioner for Human Rights) supervised at least 5000 Togolese who are part of civil society. The international observers were mostly coordinated by the European Union, the African Union, the United Nations and the ECOWAS (Economic Community Of West African States). Some observers arrived early in order to see the evolution of the electoral list, monitor the beginning of the campaign and connect with the impressive number of observers who would be present on Election Day. It is important to note that despite impressive efforts, many observed the unequal repartition of observers between polling stations; some were empty while others were overcrowded.
On Election Day, the observers noted a peaceful atmosphere and a much smoother proceedings than in 2005. No meaningful violence was recorded and according to some sources, ballot boxes were kept safe all the way to the CENI (Independent National Electoral Commission).
Nevertheless these efforts did not mask the problems that were underneath the surface. The CENI management was contested; many of the decisions that they made were considered dubious. The EU emphasised that a reinforcement of the CENI administration was recommended by the same observers after the 2005 elections, but this advice was not taken into consideration for the 2010 election.
The observers also criticized the ballots, which did not contain any insignias that proved they were official. While the UFC (Union of the Forces for a Change) suggested that both the president and vice-president of each polling station sign the ballots to ensure they were the official documents, the RPT (Rally of the Togolese People) did not approve this solution and suggested that stamps be pasted onto ballots to differentiate them from non-official ones. This latter option was refused by the UFC as they thought it was too easy to tamper with the stamps. In the end, nothing was done to make the ballots look official.
Finally, the observers note the ambiguous proxy voting. The Togolese army is engaged in peacekeeping missions in Chad and in the Central African Republic. On Monday 1st of March, the military forces of Togo began to vote so that their ballots would arrive in the country on time for them to be counted after the March 4th election. Many feel that this was an open door to fraud.
The observers from different organisation will be issuing final reports on the Togolese election in a few months. The Togolese people seem to have accepted the victory of Faure Gnassingbe. The opposition has promised a tough fight, but their militants are not following as much as they did in 2005 - the death of their relatives in the previous presidential elections contributes to this low turnout.
In conclusion, the Togolese people have repressed themselves from speaking out due to the fear of violence. The observers have demonstrated that these elections were not entirely free and fair, even though there has been some improvement compared to 2005. Now, all that's left is to wish for a government that cooperates with the opposition - and that gives Togo what Togo has been wanting for the last 43 years: democracy.