IV 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 229

Supporting the people of the Togolese Republic in their desire for free, 

fair, and open elections and the establishment of a democratic, representative government. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2005

Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota (for herself and Ms. WATSON) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 

RESOLUTION

Supporting the people of the Togolese Republic in their desire for free, fair, and open elections and the establishment of a democratic, representative government.

Whereas, in 1960, the West African country of the Togolese 

Republic gained its independence from France; 

Whereas, in 1967, former President Gnassingbe ́ Eyade ́ma 

seized power in Togo, and he remained in power until his 

death on February 5, 2005; 

Whereas in its 2004 Country Reports on Human Rights 

Practices, the Department of State stated with respect to 

Togo that, ‘‘The Constitution provides for the right of 

citizens to change their government peacefully; however, 

the Government restricted this right in practice.’’; 
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•HRES 229 IH 

Whereas following former President Eyade ́ma’s death, the 

Togolese army suspended the constitution and appointed 

former President Eyade ́ma’s son, Faure Gnassingbe ́, as 

president; 

Whereas, on February 6, 2005, the Togolese parliament 

amended the constitution to allow Faure Gnassingbe ́ to 

stay in power and carry out the remaining three years of 

his father’s presidential term, with no new elections 

scheduled until 2008; 

Whereas the Togolese constitution stipulates that upon a 

president’s death, the Speaker of the Parliament should 

sit as interim president for sixty days, after which a presidential election is to be held; 

Whereas the Economic Community of West African States 

(ECOWAS) and the African Union considered the actions 

in Togo to be a military coup, and both organizations imposed sanctions on Togo; 

Whereas regional security organizations, the United Nations, 

and other countries called for Faure Gnassingbe ́’s resignation, and a Department of State spokesman stated, 

‘‘the United States does not accept as legitimate the designation of Gnassingbe ́ as interim president and calls on 

him to step aside immediately.’’; 

Whereas after mounting international pressure, Faure 

Gnassingbe ́ authorized new elections and stepped down as 

interim president; 

Whereas opposition groups and citizens in Togo have held 

pro-democracy demonstrations in the capital city of 

Lome ́, and the protests have resulted in limited violence; 

and 
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•HRES 229 IH 

Whereas, in his 2005 inaugural address, President George W. 

Bush stressed the link between United States national security and securing democracy globally when he stated, 

‘‘It is the policy of the United States to seek and support 

the growth of democratic movements and institutions in 

every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending 

tyranny in our world . . . Freedom, by its nature, must 

be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the 

rule of law and the protection of minorities . . . We will 

encourage reform in other governments by making clear 

that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people.’’: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

2 (1) supports the people of the Togolese Repub3 lic in their desire for free, fair, and open elections 

4 and the establishment of a democratic, representa5 tive government; 

6 (2) calls on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice 

7 to encourage the Government of Togo and the Togo8 lese people to seek a peaceful transition to a demo9 cratically elected government, in accordance with 

10 internationally accepted values of democracy and 

11 transparency, and to be diligent in ensuring free, 

12 fair, and open elections; 

13 (3) recognizes the positive steps designed to 

14 promote democracy and stability in the region taken 

15 by the Economic Community of West African States 
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•HRES 229 IH 

1 (ECOWAS), which took swift steps to condemn the 

2 original disregard of the Togolese constitution; 

3 (4) encourages ECOWAS to continue moni4 toring and promoting democracy in Togo and in its 

5 other member countries; 

6 (5) encourages the African Union and the inter7 national community to monitor the presidential elec8 tions in Togo and to continue to monitor Togo fol9 lowing the elections to guard against violence of any 

10 kind; 

11 (6) encourages the presence of internationally 

12 recognized organizations to serve as election mon13 itors in Togo to ensure free, fair, and open elections 

14 by allowing all opposition candidates to take part in 

15 the upcoming April 24, 2005, presidential election; 

16 and 

17 (7) requests the Department of State to deter18 mine the legitimacy of the elections on April 24, 

19 2005, and to report to the International Relations 

20 Committee of the House of Representatives and the 

21 Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate con22 cerning whether the elections were free, fair, and 

23 open.

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