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         Togo Votes as President seeks to Continue 50-year Family Rule

   by VOA News

   Togo's president appealed for peace as he competed for his re-election
   Saturday against four other candidates.

   President Faure Gnassingbe is seeking a third five-year term, which
   would keep his family in power for nearly 50 years.

   He cast his ballot in the morning in the capital, Lome.

   Gnassingbe's father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, ruled the former French colony
   for 38 years before dying of a heart attack in 2005. His son assumed
   power and later that year won an election that was widely viewed as
   violent and flawed. He won another election in 2010.

   Opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre, who also ran for president in the
   last election, is expected to come in second in the single-round
   presidential poll.

   Rights groups have criticized Togo for using violence against
   protesters.

   Hundreds of election observers have descended on Togo to monitor the
   election. Some 3.5 million people are registered to vote, representing
   half of Togo's population.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/togo-votes-in-presidential-elections/
   2734265.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/togo-votes-in-presidential-elections/2734265.html