Despite the health crisis that is disrupting the daily lives of many Togolese people, the political quarrels arising from the recent presidential election are re-emerging and fuelling the political scene. For the past few days, members of the dynamic Kpodzro have been prosecuted. This grouping of several opposition leaders on the initiative of Bishop Kpodzro is in a critical situation after their challenge to the results of the presidential election of 22 February 2020. After the arrest and release of its leader, the dynamic Kpodzro showed its limits. It's time to take stock of the quest for alternation in Togo.
"Divinely inspired salutary initiative" for some, "wanderings of a disoriented old man … For others, the future of the Kpodzro dynamic now seems uncertain.
The crisis of Covid-19 is unlikely to stop prosecutions against members of this dynamic. On Tuesday, April 21, the leader of this initiative Agbéyomé Kodjo, who came second in the presidential election, was arrested along with some of his companions by agents of the Central Criminal Investigation and Investigation Service (SCRIC) for having three times refused to attend the convening of the national gendarmerie. This arrest was obvious. Agbéyomé Kodjo had challenged the results of the presidential election and declared himself "president-elect".
Since then, he has carried out multiple actions deemed illegal that have led to the prosecution of him and his entire team. The charges against him are: aggravated disturbance of public order, dissemination of false news, slanderous denunciations and damage to the internal security of the State. The former prime minister is accused of proclaiming himself President-elect. The candidate's legal woes are only beginning.
Following his arrest, pillars of the dynamic, Kafui Brigitte Adjamagbo, Fulbert Sassou Attisso, Bishop Philippe Fanoko Kpodzro and others are placed under judicial control and forced to submit to several restrictions while many other members of this dynamic have been referred to the civil prison of Lomé pending their trial.
Agbéyomé Kodjo is currently at large but under judicial supervision. The threat still looms. The biggest fear is that the opponent will end up in prison in the coming days, most likely if the man faithful to his attitude of subversion violates the judicial restrictions imposed on him.
The union born of "a vision" of Archbishop Fanoko Kpodzro and his ardent desire to finally see the alternation in his country, seems to be crumbling.
This union was built on a base that is fragile and ephemeral. Support for candidate Agbéyomé Kodjo was the only leitmotif in the coalition. Now that the majority of its members are being prosecuted, one wonders what the future of this dynamic will be.
For many, this is the end of the prelate's initiative because there is no sign of an exit from the crisis. On the contrary, the situation seems to be playing against the dynamics. The Covid-19 pandemic is forcing the international community to pay more attention to the measures to be taken to end the health crisis.
The resolution of political disputes is therefore not a priority. The authorities seem to have found the perfect time for a knockout.
It has been two months since the presidential election took place. There have always been challenges and the history of the country shows that they have never produced appreciable results. For many observers, the time is no longer for protests, but for the restructuring of opposition parties.
Togo's political future looks bleak. It is therefore urgent to reconstitute the opposition for a more effective fight. The various coalitions and political party unions that we have had so far have been short-lived. The coalition of the fourteen opposition parties (C14) was for many citizens the solution, the ideal posture to adopt in the face of the current regime. The idea was good, the mission noble; but the selfishness and grand ambitions of some quickly drowned this coalition. However, is hope allowed?
Some opposition parties had not hesitated to denounce the conditions under which the presidential election was held.
Among those parties is the Pan-African National Party PNP of Tikpi Atchadam, the instigator of a popular revolt in 2017.
The political strategy of these parties for the next few years is not known.
In addition, the implosion of the C14 and the likely end of the Kpodzro dynamic will no doubt give rise to new ideas.
It is very likely that a new coalition will be formed on the ruins of the previous two; this assumption is realistic because the opposition parties taken separately have never achieved much.
Criticized the presidential election of February 22 will no longer serve any purpose, that's for sure.
The international community and the major states, including France, Germany, but also the European Union have given their blessing to Faure Gnassingbé, despite internal challenges. The ruling party's candidate is inexorably advancing towards his fourth term in the announcement of the swearing-in in the coming days.
Faced with this boulevard, no major demonstrations, no lobbying, no imminent pressure, nothing but speeches and smashing announcements on social networks. Fighting dictatorship means having the means to live up to it. It is not manipulating opinion by drawing shots on the comet as did Agbéyomé Kodjo and the dynamic Kpodzro whose limits we know today. It's an epiphenomenon that just ended.
The current political scene requires restructuring. This is an imperative for a successful effort by the opposition to alternate.
It is only through this reconstruction of the credible and legitimate opposition that the Gnassingbé dictatorship will be overcome.
www.independantexpress.net
Eric G.