Based on Togo's political history and reports out of the current campaign, the United States and Togo's West African neighbors are watching this weekend's elections to ensure they are free and fair, the State Department said Friday. Spokesman Adam Ereli noted «serious allegations, which we take seriously,» raised by the Togolese interior minister, Francois Boko, who was fired by the acting president for suggesting the threat of violence was too great to hold the voting on Sunday as scheduled. «There has been the idea raised of postponing the elections,» Ereli said. «The fact of the matter is that all of the parties in Togo, both government and opposition, say that they want to move forward with elections this Sunday. We're not going to second-guess that.» --More 2324 Local Time 2024 GMT
