[1] Rather than adhering to the Togolese constitution which mandates the Speaker of Parliament act as interim leader until elections are held within 60 days, the Togolese military instead capitalized on the speaker's brief absence during a trip to announce that Eyadema's son Faure Gnassingbe would be sworn in as the new president in order to prevent a "power vacuum" from taking place within the country.

[1] In a special session of the National Assembly dominated by the Eyadema clan's ruling party - the Rally of the Togolese People (RTP) - Faure Gnassingbe was overwhelmingly approved as the Speaker of Parliament by a wide margin of 67 to 14.

[1] A constitutional amendment was also later passed allowing Faure Gnassingbe to serve his father's term that lasts until 2008.

[4] Following international pressure, Faure Gnassingbe pledged he would hold elections within 60 days but still remained firm on retaining his position beforehand.

[8] Responses from the international community were mixed: France and ECOWAS deemed the vote as largely fair barring minor irregularities while the European Union (EU) criticized the elections for not meeting democratic standards.