Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 21 March 1999 (next due to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RPT 77, independents 2, vacant 2 note: Togo's main opposition parties boycotted the election because of EYADEMA's alleged manipulation of 1998 presidential polling; since March of 1999, opposition parties have entered into negotiations with the president over the establishment of an independent electoral commission and a new round of legislative elections for sometime in 2000
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Supreme Court or
Cour Supreme
Political parties and leaders: Action Committee for Renewal or CAR
; Coordination des Forces Nouvelles or CFN [Joseph
KOFFIGOH]; Democratic Convention of African Peoples or CDPA [Leopold
GNININVI]; Party for Democracy and Renewal or PDR ;
Patriotic Pan-African Convergence or CPP ; Rally of the
Togolese People or RPT ; Union of
Forces for Change or UFC [Gilchrist OLYMPIO (in exile), Jeane-Pierre
FABRE, general secretary in Togo]; Union of Independent Liberals or
ULI
note: Rally of the Togolese People or RPT, led by President EYADEMA,
was the only party until the formation of multiple parties was
legalized 12 April 1991
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA,
ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU,
MINURSO, MIPONUH, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Akoussoulelov BODJONA chancery: 2208 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 234-4212 FAX: (202) 232-3190
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda Brown SCHOONOVER embassy: Rue Pelletier Caventou and Rue Vauban, Lome mailing address: B. P. 852, Lome telephone: 21 77 17, 21 29 91 through 21 29 94 FAX: 21 79 52
Flag description: five equal horizontal bands of green (top and bottom) alternating with yellow; there is a white five-pointed star on a red square in the upper hoist-side corner; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
@Togo:Economy
Economy - overview: This small sub-Saharan economy is heavily dependent on both commercial and subsistence agriculture, which provides employment for 65% of the labor force. Cocoa, coffee, and cotton together generate about 30% of export earnings. Togo is self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs when harvests are normal, with occasional regional supply difficulties. In the industrial sector, phosphate mining is by far the most important activity, although it has suffered from the collapse of world phosphate prices and increased foreign competition. Togo serves as a regional commercial and trade center. The government's decade-long effort, supported by the World Bank and the IMF, to implement economic reform measures, encourage foreign investment, and bring revenues in line with expenditures has stalled. Political unrest, including private and public sector strikes throughout 1992 and 1993, jeopardized the reform program, shrunk the tax base, and disrupted vital economic activity. The 12 January 1994 devaluation of the currency by 50% provided an important impetus to renewed structural adjustment; these efforts were facilitated by the end of strife in 1994 and a return to overt political calm. Progress depends on following through on privatization, increased openness in government financial operations (to accommodate increased social service outlays), and possible downsizing of the military, on which the regime has depended to stay in place. Lack of aid, along with depressed cocoa prices, generated a 1% fall in GDP in 1998, with growth resuming in 1999. Assuming no deterioration of the political atmosphere, growth should rise to 5% a year in 2000-01.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $8.6 billion (1999 est.)