Politics have been dominated for two decades by General Gnassingbe EyadΘma, who took power at the head of a military government in 1967. The army is the main power broker, notably the small group of officers from Pya on the Kabye Plateau.
A democracy movement has been gathering momentum since 1990, when serious rioting occurred in LomΘ. Many unofficial parties sprang up and were legitimized early in 1991, although since then they have been struggling against EyadΘma's efforts to claw back his power. Multiparty presidential elections held in 1993 confirmed EyadΘma in power. However, these were boycotted by some opposition candidates in protest over the exclusion from the elections of Gilchrist Olympio, an arch-opponent of EyadΘma and son of a former president. Legislative elections held early in 1994 saw a close contest between the CAR and EyadΘma's RPT. However, results in three constituencies have since been declared invalid, and further elections are scheduled for later in the year.
