Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe on Monday reassured the diplomatic corps about his determination to see the presidential election held in "satisfactory" conditions in 2010.
"I am determined to see this election held under satisfactory conditions in terms of transparency, credibility and non-violence, "
Gnassingbe declared in his speech.
He gave the example of the 2007 legislative elections whose democratic nature led to the return of main financial donors who had suspended their
cooperation with Togo for "lack of democracy" in 2003.
"The government will endeavor to create all required conditions in order to achieve this objective," he said, adding that all the Togolese
political forces are "extra vigilant."
The presidential election scheduled for Feb. 28, 2010 will mark the end of the first term of Gnassingbe, who came to power after a hotly contested election marred by violence in 2005.
According to the Togolese president, the democratic nature of the 2010 election "will first depend on legality, but also its serenity and
peacefulness."
He announced that "all forms of violence, all attempts to divide the Togolese and all involvement in violence need to be condemned with
firmness."