Lome -
The president of Togo's electoral commission says provisional results show the ruling party has increased its share of the legislature in elections held last week, dealing a blow to opposition leaders who had hoped recent signs of discontent would translate into electoral gains.
Angele Aguigah, reading figures on state television on Sunday night, said the Union for the Republic party won 62 of 91 seats, up from 50 of the legislature's 81 seats in 2007.
Eyadema Gnassingbe came to power through a coup in 1967 and ruled for 38 years until his death in 2005, when his son Faure Gnassingbe, the current president, took over.
The buildup to last week's vote had seen increasingly daring protests by the opposition, though analysts questioned whether Gnassingbe would allow his party's majority to shrink. - Sapa-AP