Togo government resigns as president begins third term

Lome (AFP) - Togo's Prime Minister Kwesi Seleagodji Ahoomey-Zunu and his government resigned on Friday, an expected move after elections last month that saw President Faure Gnassingbe extend his family's nearly five-decade grip on power.

Gnassingbe was sworn in for his third term on May 4 after winning nearly 59 percent of the vote in the small west African country that his family has controlled since 1967.

The president thanked the prime minister and his government for their service, noting that their resignations at the start of a new term were in line with "republican practice", a statement read on national television said.

It was not immediately clear if any of the departing ministers would be offered posts in the president's new administration.

Togo's main opposition, Combat for Political Change (CAP 2015), dismissed Gnassingbe's election win as fraudulent, but international observers broadly praised the polls as free and fair.

CAP 2015 did not challenge the results in Togo's courts, saying it did not believe the Constitutional Court would take any action.

Gnassingbe's father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, seized power in a coup and ruled with an iron fist for 38 years over the former German and French-administered colony until his death in 2005.

Originating at thewillnigeria.com