With the goal to create a hunting park of 80 km 2 were over 10,000 peasants from Keran Oti district in the north in 1991, driven from their lands.
In April 1991, the opposition conducted demonstrations in a number of cities. On April 8, more than 1,000 people occupied one of Lome’s most important districts, built barricades and demanded Eyadema’s departure. The government responded violently again, over 30 were killed and an unknown number injured. On April 12, the political parties of the opposition were legalized and Eyadema published an amnesty for the political prisoners and launched a democratic opening.
On August 28, a National Congress appointed Kokou Koffigoh as provisional prime minister. He was president of the country’s Law Council and a well-known figure in the defense of human rights. The National Congress also established a Legislative National Assembly that removed Eyadema from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and banned him from running for the 1992 presidential election.
On November 26, 1991, the National Assembly decided to dissolve the RPT, but this triggered a military coup. Two days later, the military occupied the government building, disbanded the legislative assembly and captured Koffigoh for several hours. About 20 people were killed by military patrols. The coup makers blamed the legislative assembly for consisting of extremists who backed President Eyadema. The political parties and other opposition organizations called for organizing the resistance to prevent the return to dictatorship.
The complicated political situation in Togo is further exacerbated by economic, social and tribal problems. Eyadema belongs to e.g. the northern part of the Kabye tribe, dominating the military with 12,000 soldiers. In turn, Prime Minister Koffigoh represents the people of the South, the country’s largest ethnic group. Under these circumstances, negotiations on the transfer of power to civilians began in 1992. A timetable for returning to democracy was established and the electoral corps was registered.
The opposition broke with Koffigoh in January 1993, met in Benin and appointed a new parallel government. That same month, the presidential guard killed over 100 protesters in Lomé, sending thousands of people fleeing to Ghana and Benin.
Eyadema agreed to hold elections in August. Under civil war-like conditions, he “won” 96.5% of the vote, in an election characterized by opposition as pure fraud. The popular protests escalated, and in January, Eyadema escaped unscathed from an assassination attempt by 100 armed men. 67 were killed.
According to thesciencetutor, the opposition won the parliamentary elections in February, but Eyadema declined to allow one of its leaders, Edem Kodjo to form government without the participation of the RPT. The Renewal Action Committee, which comprised opposition groups, therefore decided to boycott parliament, and paralyzed the government for most of the year.
In July, extensive flooding of Lomé caused 150,000 people to lose their homes. In September, 3 weeks of rain destroyed entire villages, roads and bridges – especially in the country’s northern and central parts. 21,000 people lost their homes.
In August 1996, Kodjo resigned from the Prime Minister’s post and was replaced by Kwassi Klutse from the RPT. In July, the opposition strengthened its contacts with a view to gathering, so as to overturn Eyadema. The president had now been in power since 1967 and was subjected to pressure from even the military to liberalize the political system.
The EU decided to grant $ 30 million in aid to the government for use in the areas of health, education and the construction of roads in rural areas.
