Togo vote latest test of Africa's dented democracy

By John Zodzi

LOME (Reuters) - Voters in the West African nation of Togo head to the polls on Thursday to pick a president in the latest test for democracy in a resource-exporting region blighted by coups and flawed elections.

Hundreds died in post-election violence following Togo's last presidential poll in 2005. Voting this time comes just after the region has been shaken by a coup in Niger, street riots over delayed Ivory Coast polls and instability in Guinea.

"A smooth election in Togo would be an extremely positive development for the region as a whole," said Almami Cyllah, Africa director for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in Washington.

"The international community will be watching this one closely," he added. West African and European Union observers will monitor the vote across the country, a slither of land between Ghana and Benin which is home to 6.6 million.

Campaigning in the world's No. 4 supplier of phosphate, a chemical used in the production of fertilisers, has so far been peaceful with heightened local security and the deployment of regional military forces.

But the politics have already been marred by opposition accusations that incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe has used the country's electoral commission to rig what would otherwise be a tight outcome in his favour.

Gnassingbe, the candidate of the ruling Togolese People's Rally (RPT), took power in 2005 after the death of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled as a dictator for 38 years.

"The RPT can never win properly, it always wins by cheating," said Dovi Andre Kuevi, a spokeman for the main opposition group UFC.