• Country/entity

  Togo
  

• Region

  Africa (excl MENA)
  

• Agreement name

  Dialogue inter-togolais: memorandum des partis politiques signataires de l'Accord Politique Global et représentés à l'Assemblée Nationale

• Date

  7 Aug 2009

• Agreement status

  Multiparty signed/agreed

• Interim arrangement

  Yes

• Agreement/conflict level

  Intrastate/intrastate conflict ( Togolese Conflicts (1946 - ) )

• Stage

  Framework/substantive - partial

• Conflict nature

  Government

• Peace process

  Togo peace process

• Parties

  For the RPT, ESSO ZSOLITOKI M., Secretary General
  For the UFC, Gilchrist OLYMPIO, President
  For the CAR, APEVON Dodji Paul, President;

• Third parties

  Facilitator, Blaise COMPAORE, President of Burkina Faso

• Description

  Agreement builds on the Global Political Agreement, and provides for the establishment of a National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) to ensure fair elections via the training of national electoral observers. Agreement also provides for international observers. Agreement further reaffirms Art. 62 of the constitution on the eligibility of presidential candidates. Furthermore, agreement covers the security of polling statements, and refers the technical specifications of polling cards to CENI. Parties agree to respect the Code of Good Conduct.

• Agreement document

  TG_090807_Memorandum des partis politiques.pdf | Download PDF

• Agreement document (original language)

  TG_090807_Memorandum des partis politiques_FR.pdf | Download PDF

Groups

Gender

State definition

Governance

Power sharing

Human rights and equality

Rights related issues

Rights institutions

Justice sector reform

Socio-economic reconstruction

Land, property and environment

Security sector

Transitional justice

Implementation

INTERTOGOLESE DIALOGUE

MEMORANDUM OF THE POLITICAL PARTIES SIGNATORY TO THE GLOBAL POLITICAL AGREEMENT AND REPRESENTED IN THE NAITONAL ASSEMBLY

Ouagadougou, August 7, 2009

PREAMBLE

The political parties participating in the Intertogolese Dialogue and represented in the National Assembly,

- Meeting at Ouagadougou from August 4 to 6, 2009, at the invitation of His Excellency Mr Blaise COMPAORE, President of Burkina Faso and Facilitator of the Intertogolese Dialogue;

- Wishing to achieve a durable peace, to guarantee stability and the harmonious development of Togo;

- Referring to the Global Political Agreement signed on August 20, 2006, at Lomé between all the parties in the Intertogolese Dialogue;

- Committed to preserving and consolidating the achievements of the peace process launched by the Global Political Agreement;

- Taking note of the Final Communique of the 36th Session of the Conference of Heads of State and of Government of the Economic Community of West Africa (la Communauté Économique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, CEDEAO) inviting President Blaise CAMPAORE to return to his facilitation mission in Togo;

- Determined to work together in a spirit of brotherhood and cordial understanding, to enable the organisation of open, free, transparent and democratic elections, which would signal a definite end to the crisis in Togo;

- Enacting decision no.

C-003/09 of July 9, 2009, of the Constitutional Court on the law modifying the Electoral Code voted by the National Assembly on June 29, 2009;

Have agreed the following:

I. COMPOSITION OF CENI AND ITS SUB-DIVISIONS

I.1 The signatory parties to the present Memorandum have agreed on the composition of the National Independent Electoral Commission (la Commission Electorale Nationale Indépendente, CENI) as foreseen by the law modifying the Electoral Code, voted by the National Assembly of June 29, 2009, and on the procedure for appointing its members.

I.2 In order to ensure the proper functioning of CENI, the signatory Parties agree to strengthen the permanent administrative Secretariat tasked with providing technical support for the practical organisation of the elections.

In addition they have decided to call on the expertise of the Burkina Faso CENI and to request access to international experts in electoral processes.

I.3 In terms of CENI sub-divisions, the signatory Parties have decided to create as many as necessary to ensure the widest and most reliable participation of citizens in elections.

II. CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

II.1 The signatory parties to the present Memorandum shall work, within the framework of the laws currently in force and in accordacne with democratic principles, to ensure open, free transparent and democratic elections.

II.2 They agree to comply with the conditions of eligibility foreseen in article 62 of the Constitution, and shall proceed to redraft certain provisions foreseen in articles 168.3, 170.2 and 170.9 of the Electoral Code, in order to enable potential candidates to contest the next presidential election.

III. TECHNICAL PROVISIONS FOR A PEACEFUL ELECTION

III.1 In order to guarantee proper polling procedures, the signatory parties to the present Memorandum agree that the polling stations shall be made secure.

III.2 The technical specifications of the voting cards shall be determined exclusively and independently by CENI.

III.3 The parties to the present Memorandum shall ask the Government to provide CENI with the necessary resources for transmitting the election results from the polling stations to the CELI offices.

III.4 In order to guarantee the transparency of the elections, the parties agree that they shall be open to national and international observers under the conditions foreseen by law.

To this effect, the international observers shall be accredited by CENI, at their request, by on the basis of a list prepared by CENI in collaboration with the Territorial Administration and other State services.

National observers shall be accredited by CENI.

III.5 The signatory Parties to the present Memorandum undertake to scrupulously respect the Code of Good Conduct recommended by the Global Political Agreement.

They invite the Government, the Parliament and all parties to the Global Political Agreement, to work together to strengthen the resources and the role of the High Audiovisual and Communication Authority (la Haute Autorité de l’Audiovisuel et de la Communication, HAAC), in order to facilitate the organisation of elections in a peaceful climate.

They exhort the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that all political parties have fair access to State media.

IV. MISCELLANEOUS AND FINAL PROVISIONS

IV.1 Where difficulties arise in interpretation or implementation of the provisions in the present Memorandum, the Parties agree to refer to the Facilitator for arbitration.

IV.2 The present Memorandum commits the signatory Parties.

Done at Ouagadougou, August 8, 2009

For the RPT

ESSO ZSOLITOKI M.

Secretary General

For the UFC Gilchrist OLYMPIO

President

Facilitator

Blaise COMPAORE President of Burkina Faso

For the CAR APEVON Dodji Paul

President