7,000 demonstrators protest Togo election results that handed victory to son of ex-dictator

7,000 demonstrators protest Togo election results

LOME, Togo — Thousands of opposition demonstrators have taken to the streets in the West African nation of Togo to protest presidential election results.

Togo’s constitutional court has declared victory for the son of the country’s former dictator and dismissed fraud complaints in the disputed election held earlier this month.

On Saturday, more than 7,000 protesters made their way through Togo’s capital. One demonstrator’s sign read: “Return Our Stolen Verdict.”

Opposition candidate Jean-Pierre Fabre says the protesters are determined to continue their fight.

The constitutional court’s ruling gave Faure Gnassingbe a nearly 61 percent victory. Gnassingbe seized power in 2005 after the death of his father. The same family has ruled Togo for the past 43 years.