Jacques Amouzou
Kwame-Mensah Jacques Amouzou (born 25 July 1936[1]) is a Togolese politician and businessman. An ethnic Ewe, Amouzou was a minor candidate in both the 1993 and 1998 presidential elections.[2] He is the President of the Union of Independent Liberals (ULI).[3] Amouzou was "widely perceived as a front" for President Gnassingbé Eyadéma during the 1990s.[4]
Political career
Amouzou was born in Gbatope, located in Zio Prefecture.[5] At the time of the August 1993 presidential election, Amouzou ran as an independent candidate.[5][6] He and Ife Adani were the only candidates to stand against President Eyadéma, who won 96% of the vote. Amouzou and Adani were not considered serious challengers; all of the major opposition leaders chose to boycott the election.[6]
Led by Amouzou, the ULI was founded in November 1993 as a moderate opposition party, representing the political space between Eyadéma's Rally of the Togolese People (RPT) and the radical opposition Collective of Democratic Opposition-2 (COD-2).[7] In the February 1994 parliamentary election, he ran as a candidate in Zio Prefecture, but did not win a seat.[8]
Amouzou and the ULI were viewed as close to the RPT, and Amouzou was described as "virtually a second RPT candidate" at the time of the 1998 presidential election; his critics alleged that he was merely a tool of Eyadéma who was used to manipulate the political playing field in Eyadéma's favor. He placed last in the 1998 election with 0.35% of the vote.[9]
References
- ^ Journal Official de la Republique Togolaise, 18 May 1998, page 3 (in French).
- ^ "Togo - Stalled Democratic Transition" Archived 2008-07-05 at the Wayback Machine, Centre for Democracy and Development.
- ^ "Une démocratie en bonne santé" Archived 2008-06-13 at the Wayback Machine, Republicoftogo.com, 12 January 2007 (in French).
- ^ "IRIN-West Africa: Special briefing on presidential elections in Togo, 98.6.19", IRIN-West Africa Weekly roundup 53, 19 June 1998.
- ^ a b Journal Official de la Republique Togolaise, 6 August 1993, page 3 (in French).
- ^ a b "Aug 1993 – Election victory for Eyadema", Keesing's Record of World Events, volume 39, August 1993 Togo, page 39,583.
- ^ "Chronology for Kabre in Togo", Minorities at Risk Project (UNHCR.org), 2004.
- ^ "05 février 2007: «catastrophe gbatopéenne»", Etiame.com (in French).
- ^ Africa Today, volume 4 (1998), pages 24–25 and 29.