2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Investigation, Domestic and international ties
Shahzad's name and number were also found in a cell phone believed to belong to Aftab Ali Khan. The third man detained was Mohammad Shafiq Rahman, a 33-year-old computer programmer living in South Portland, Maine. He had known Shahzad in the past, lived in Connecticut a few years prior, and went to Maine in approximately 2008. They were detained on immigration, not criminal, charges. The FBI also conducted searches at a gas station in the nearby town of Brookline, in Camden and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and in Centereach and Shirley, New York, on Long Island. U.S. Attorney General Holder said there was evidence the men had provided money to Shahzad through an informal money transfer network (known as a hawala), but it was not yet clear if they were aware of the bombing plot.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Investigation, "200 and 201"
A week before, the episode "201" of the controversial show South Park aired. There were threats and censorship of the episode due to Revolution Muslim. People believe this was caused due to the episodes depiction of Muhammed, the Muslim prophet. Security were protecting the Viacom studios building (Comedy Central and Paramount Network parent company). This episode and its processor "200", was pulled from broadcasting and streaming from Hulu and HBO Max.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Early life, family, work, and naturalization
Faisal Shahzad was born in Pakistan in 1979 to a wealthy, well-educated family. His father, a former Pakistan Air Force Vice Marshal, is deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan. Shahzad attended primary school in Saudi Arabia, and then studied in Pakistan. Arriving in the U.S. in 1999 on an F-1 student visa, he studied at now-defunct Southeastern University, receiving a 2.78 grade point average. In 1999 the United States Customs Service placed him on its travel lookout list.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Early life, family, work, and naturalization
He transferred in 2000 to the University of Bridgeport, receiving a B.A. in 2002, and an M.B.A. in 2005. He worked in the accounting department of Elizabeth Arden in Connecticut from 2002 to 2006, leaving for a junior financial analyst job (for an estimated $55–80,000 salary) for Affinion Group in Connecticut until he resigned in June 2009. He had been granted a three-year H1-B skilled worker visa in 2002, a green card in 2006, and became a U.S. citizen in April 2009 by his marriage to his wife. He also has a Karachi identification card, reflecting Pakistani residency.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Early life, family, work, and naturalization
In 2004, in an arranged marriage, he married Huma Asif Mian, a Colorado-born U.S. citizen who had just graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She and her Pakistani-born parents had lived in Qatar and Colorado; her parents now live in Saudi Arabia. A neighbor recalled Shahzad visited the family only once before she joined him in Connecticut. Shahzad's family lived in a single-family three-bedroom house in Shelton, Connecticut for three years. He then defaulted on his $200,000 mortgage, and was sued by the bank in September 2009 as it foreclosed on his home. This foreclosure occurred only 8 months before the attempt.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, West Asian travels
In addition to traveling to Pakistan regularly, "Shahzad has been visiting Middle Eastern countries," according to Minister Malik. Shahzad had traveled to Dubai before, most recently on June 2, 2009, on an Emirates flight. The New York Times reported that in 2009 he asked his father for permission to fight in Afghanistan against American and NATO forces, but his father refused, saying that he disapproved and reminding Shahzad that Islam does not permit a man to abandon his wife or children.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, West Asian travels
On July 3, 2009, he reportedly traveled to Pakistan and is believed to have visited Peshawar, often a gateway for foreign visitors to join up with jihadist groups in the militant-occupied Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and stayed there from July 7 to July 22. Peshawar's legacy for blackmarket terror goes back to the Soviet–Afghan War when it was a center for the Mujahideen parties and their US & Gulf patrons.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, West Asian travels
The Center for Strategic and International Studies describes the FATA as: "ground zero in the U.S. Jihadist war, and home to many al-Qaeda operatives, especially the numerous foreigners from the Arab world, Central Asia Muslim areas of the Far East, and even Europe who flock to this war zone for training [and] indoctrination." A senior Administration official said it appears he had an attack in mind when he went there, and he went there seeking help for the attack.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, West Asian travels
While in Pakistan, he said he trained, including explosives bomb-making training, at a terrorist training camp in Waziristan, according to American officials and the complaint against him. Waziristan is home to a number of terrorist and militant organizations, and is the main base for al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban. He spent five months in Pakistan, where his wife is now living. CBS News reported that he may have spent at least four months at the camp. He committed to the car bombing while undergoing training, according to U.S. officials.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, West Asian travels
Shahzad told interrogators that he met with Pakistani Taliban operatives in North Waziristan in December and January 2009, and later received explosives training from the same operatives, said a senior military official.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, Activities in the United States
After dropping his wife and children off in Saudi Arabia, he returned to the U.S. on February 3, 2010, on an Emirates flight from Dubai. He reportedly bought the ingredients for his bomb slowly over an extended period of time as he had been instructed to in his bomb-making training camp in Pakistan to avoid suspicion.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, Activities in the United States
On March 8, he bought Silver Salute M88 fireworks from a Matamoras, Pennsylvania, fireworks company, according to the company's records and surveillance images. He telephoned the company again on April 25.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, Activities in the United States
In March, he also purchased a new Kel-Tec 9mm Sub Rifle 2000 (a carbine hybrid of a pistol and a long gun with a folding stock, hand grip, and a rifle barrel) in Connecticut for $400.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, Activities in the United States
Shahzad reportedly drove from his Connecticut home to a Dunkin' Donuts in Ronkonkoma, New York, on Long Island in the days before the failed attack to collect $4,000 in cash, some of which he used to finance his plan.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, Activities in the United States
Shahzad is believed to have bought the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder on April 24, a week prior to the attempted bombing. The vehicle had been listed in an online Craigslist ad, and he reportedly bought it from a female Connecticut college student for $1,300 (negotiated down from $1,800), which he paid in $100 bills. He reportedly exchanged the cash for the car at a Connecticut shopping center parking lot, where he inspected the interior and cargo area (but not the engine) and declined the offer of a bill of sale. He later had the car windows tinted, which made it harder to peer inside. A surveillance tape from the parking lot shows Shahzad test-driving the car, according to the FBI. He bought a second vehicle through Craigslist (a black Isuzu Rodeo) from a mechanic in Stratford, Connecticut.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, Activities in the United States
Shahzad reportedly watched streaming videos online to determine the day of the week and time that Times Square would be busiest, determining that it would be a Saturday night at 6:30 pm. He picked the following Saturday night at the same time as his alternate time for his car bomb attack.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Before the attack, Activities in the United States
On April 28, three days before the attempted bombing, he drove the Pathfinder from Connecticut to Times Square, apparently in a dry run to figure out where the best place to leave it later would be, according to an official. A day before the attempted attack he drove a getaway car into mid-Manhattan, dropped it off blocks from his target, and took a train home to Connecticut, a law enforcement official said.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Arrest and follow-up
On May 3, federal authorities identified a person of interest in the attack. At 11:45 pm EDT, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested Shahzad at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He was detained just moments before his flight, Emirates Flight 202 to Dubai, left the gate. His destination was Islamabad, Pakistan, and he had paid for his estimated $800 ticket in cash.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Arrest and follow-up
After he was arrested, Shahzad directed authorities to his car which he had driven to and parked at the airport, a white Isuzu Trooper. His Kel-Tec 9 mm Sub Rifle 2000 was inside it, along with five full magazines of ammunition, according to law enforcement officials.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Arrest and follow-up
The FBI and NYPD searched Shahzad's Bridgeport, Connecticut, $1,150-a-month two-bedroom apartment (which he had rented since February 15, without ever missing a payment) at Sheridan Street and Boston Avenue on May 4, removing filled plastic bags. Materials related to the bomb were found in his apartment, including boxes that had contained the alarm clocks. Keys that had been found in the Pathfinder opened the door to the home, and in his garage fertilizer and fireworks were found that were similar to those that had been discovered in the car bomb.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Motive
The motive that the bomber Faisal Shahzad stated was the repeated CIA drone attacks in Pakistan, his native country. "Based on what we know so far, it is clear that this was a terrorist plot aimed at murdering Americans in one of the busiest places in our country," Attorney General Holder said. Holder said that Shahzad admitted involvement in the bombing attempt and that it "was a terrorist plot". The Complaint against Shahzad also indicated that he had admitted to receiving bomb-making instruction in Waziristan, that he brought the Pathfinder to Times Square and attempted to detonate it there.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Motive
Shahzad reportedly had four other high-profile targets in the New York area he was planning to attack if his first attack had been successful. On his list were Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Terminal, the World Financial Center (just across from World Trade Center/Ground Zero) and the Connecticut-based company that manufactures helicopters for the U.S. military, Sikorsky.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Motive
CNN reported that Shahzad felt Islam was under attack, according to an official familiar with the investigation. By a year prior to the attack, Shahzad became more introverted, more religious, and more stringent in his views, according to a friend of his from college.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Motive
Shahzad told interrogators that he was "inspired by" extremist Anwar al-Awlaki to take up the cause of al-Qaeda. Shahzad was moved to action, at least in part, by al-Awlaki's writings calling for holy war against Western targets as a religious duty, and was a "fan and follower" of al-Awlaki, according to sources. A U.S. official said that al-Awlaki was a crucial influence on Shahzad, saying: "He listened to him, and he did it." Shahzad made contact over the internet with al-Awlaki, the Pakistani Taliban's Baitullah Mehsud (who was killed in a drone strike in 2009), and a web of jihadists, ABC News reported.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Perpetrator, Motive
Al-Awlaki was known among other things for having spoken with three of the September 11 hijackers in 2001, for having exchanged dozens of emails with the suspected Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, he is believed to have met with Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab during his training by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and for militant English-language online lectures and writings with violent rhetoric were a catalyst for a number of attacks. The New York Times described al-Awlaki as "perhaps the most prominent English-speaking advocate of violent jihad against the United States." Al-Awlaki was the first U.S. citizen killed by the CIA under a presidential decree.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Prosecution, Shahzad
On May 4, federal prosecutors charged Shahzad with five counts, including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and trying to kill and maim people within the U.S. Two of his felonies carry a maximum of a life sentence if convicted, and two of his other counts carry mandatory minimum terms of 5 and 30 years, which means that if he is convicted of both, he will face at least 35 years in prison.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Prosecution, Shahzad
Federal authorities say Shahzad voluntarily waived his Miranda rights and his right to an initial speedy court appearance, and agreed to answer questions. He was interrogated by the recently formed High-Value Interrogation Group. Ron Kuby, who has represented a number of terrorism defendants, said: "My experience with ... Islamists, is they love to talk. Their goal isn't to beat the rap when they're caught. Their goal is either to die as a martyr, or commit mass murder".


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Prosecution, Shahzad
Ken Wainstein, a former U.S. attorney who headed the Justice Department's anti-terrorism efforts, said that a defendant's cooperation is motivated by "just sheer pride in what he's done." Faisal was arraigned on May 18. He is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. On June 17, a federal grand jury indicted Shahzad on terror charges. Shazad pleaded guilty to the charges. On October 5, 2010, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole by a federal judge in New York. He responded to the sentence by saying that "the defeat of the U.S. is imminent." When asked by the judge, "Didn't you swear allegiance to this country?" Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen, replied, "I sweared, but I didn't mean it."


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Prosecution, Other arrests
Representative Jane Harman, a California Democrat and Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment, said Pakistani officials arrested "alleged facilitators" as part of a "far broader investigation." Pakistani authorities arrested more than a dozen suspects in the investigation of the attempted car bombing, including two or three people at a house in Karachi's Nazimabad district where Shahzad is said to have stayed.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Prosecution, Other arrests
Pakistani intelligence officials said a man named Tauseef Ahmed, a friend of Shahzad, was detained in Karachi in connection with the case. He had been in touch with Shahzad by email, and is believed to have traveled to the U.S. two months prior to the attack to meet with Shahzad. Another man arrested, Muhammad Rehan, an alleged hardcore militant, had spent time with Shahzad during a recent visit to Pakistan and was arrested in Karachi at a mosque known for links to the militant group Jaish-e-Muhammad. On May 6, Pakistani officials said U.S. law enforcement officers had joined them in questioning four alleged members of an al-Qaeda-linked militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammad, regarding possible links to Shahzad. A major serving in the Pakistan Army and businessman Salman Ashraf Khan were also arrested.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Reaction, Government
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly were in Washington, D.C., to attend the 2010 White House Correspondents' Dinner, but returned immediately to New York after they were informed of the incident. Bloomberg's initial statement was to the effect that it may have been perpetrated by a domestic terrorist, saying to CBS's Katie Couric, "If I had to guess 25 cents, this would be exactly that: homegrown, or maybe a mentally deranged person, or somebody with a political agenda that doesn't like the health care bill or something. It could be anything." Bloomberg warned against retribution, saying, "We will not tolerate any bias or any backlash against Muslim New Yorkers." Commissioner Kelly said that to terrorists, "New York is America, and they want to come back to kill us."


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Reaction, Government
President Barack Obama called the bomb attempt a "sobering reminder of the times in which we live", and said that Americans "will not cower in fear" as a result of it. He telephoned Duane Jackson, one of the vendors, to thank him for alerting police. Attorney General Eric Holder called it a "terrorist act". White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, similarly, said "Anybody that has the type of material that they had in a car in Times Square, I would say that was intended to terrorize, absolutely. And I would say that whoever did that would be categorized as a terrorist, yes."


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Reaction, Government
On May 6, 2010, then-senator Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee at the time, introduced bipartisan legislation under which Americans joining or working with foreign terrorist groups would be stripped of their U.S. citizenship. Identical legislation was introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Pennsylvania Congressman Jason Altmire, a Democrat, and Charlie Dent, a Republican. Lawmakers said that revoking citizenship would block terrorism suspects from using U.S. passports to re-enter the U.S., and make them eligible for prosecution before a military commission instead of a civilian court.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Reaction, Government
The measure, named the Terrorist Expatriation Act, was immediately criticized by Muslim advocacy groups, who said it would unjustly target Muslim Americans and other minority groups. "In my opinion it is xenophobic and unconstitutional and un-American," said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society. The bill was an amendment to a 1940 law which stripped citizenship from individuals who joined either Japanese or German armies. The bill was not enacted into law.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Reaction, Muslims
Muslim leaders in the U.S. urged the public to "distinguish between acts of violence and terror and Islam, a religion that they said encourages peace and love", reported The Wall Street Journal . It has further been pointed out that the media largely ignored how the Senegalese man who raised the alarm was in fact a Muslim as well.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Reaction, Muslims
In Pakistan there was common belief that Shahzad's arrest was a U.S. conspiracy to malign Muslims worldwide, according to the Financial Times.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Reaction, Criticism
Some criticism followed partisan lines. Conservative political commentator S. E. Cupp, for example, wrote that there was a culture of political correctness towards Islamic extremism in the White House, juxtaposing it with the administration's supposedly more aggressive stance towards Christian militia groups. Michael B. Mukasey, the former U.S. Attorney General who served during the George W. Bush administration, lamented the leakage of what he termed "intelliporn"—intelligence information that is disclosed by the media because it is "fun to read about" even though it causes harm by disclosing critical information to terrorists. The Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat carried an editorial praising Obama for not mentioning the word Islam in connection with Shahzad.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Reaction, Criticism
Professor Fouad Ajami characterized the car bombing attempt as part of "a long twilight war, the struggle against radical Islamism". He described Shahzad, Nidal Malik Hasan, and Anwar Awlaki as being part of "a deadly breed of combatants in this new kind of war", for which the United States was simultaneously "the object of their dreams, and the scapegoat onto which they project their deepest malignancies".


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Reaction, Criticism
In Dubai's Gulf News, a columnist responded to Ajami's column by writing: "What is now needed is for smart police officers in the East and the West to work together to arrest and bring to justice criminals who have little respect for life itself – though we must also try politicians who launched perpetual wars and thinkers who pretended to add value by opining that our civilizations are doomed to clash."


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Claims of responsibility
Initially, according to a report by the Associated Press, a Pakistani Taliban group claimed responsibility for an attack against the U.S. in a video posted on YouTube, saying it was revenge for the killing of Baitullah Mehsud and the top leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq — Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri — as well as for general American "interference and terrorism in Muslim Countries, especially in Pakistan." However, "The tape makes no specific reference to the attack; it does not mention that it was a car bomb or that it took place in New York City". According to The New York Times and the New York Daily News, the same group has made far-fetched, false claims for other attacks in the past.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Claims of responsibility
On May 6, however, a Pakistani Taliban spokesman said it was not involved with the attempted bombing, but added: "Such attacks are welcome. We have no relation with Faisal. However, he is our Muslim brother. We feel proud of Faisal. He did a brave job." On May 9, The New York Times opined that the retraction may have been prompted by fears that admission of responsibility might result in an attack on the Pakistan Taliban in North Waziristan by the U.S. or Pakistan.


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Claims of responsibility
On May 9, however, Holder said "We've now developed evidence that shows the Pakistani Taliban was behind the attack," directed the plot, and may have financed it. The Taliban in Pakistan is believed by some military intelligence officials to have joined forces with al-Qaeda. John Brennan, President Obama's chief counterterrorism adviser, said: "He was trained by [the Taliban in Pakistan]. He received funding from them. He was basically directed here to the United States to carry out this attack." Some military intelligence officials believe the Taliban in Pakistan has joined forces with al-Qaeda. John Brennan, President Obama's chief counterterrorism adviser, said: "It's a group that is closely allied with al-Qaeda. They train together, they plan together, they plot together. They are almost indistinguishable."


2010 Times Square car bombing attempt, Claims of responsibility
Several other groups claimed responsibility, without any corroborating evidence or verified data.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections
Elections were held in the organized municipalities in the Timiskaming District of Ontario on October 25, 2010 in conjunction with municipal elections across the province. An X beside a candidate indicates the candidate is the incumbent.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections
Across the region, Doug Shearer and Bill Brookfield were elected as school trustees on District School Board Ontario North East, Martin Drainville, Rick Brassard and Steve Malciw were elected to the Northeastern Catholic District School Board and Roger Brazeau was elected to the Conseil scolaire de district du Nord-Est de l'Ontario.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Armstrong
Incumbent reeve Jules Gravel was acclaimed in Armstrong. Robert Éthier, Jean-Marc Boileau, Georges Daviau and Dominique Nackers were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Brethour
Arla West was acclaimed in Brethour. Brad Noyes, Russell Britton, Kieven Bennewies and Julie Wilkinson were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Casey
Incumbent reeve Guy Labonte was acclaimed back into office in Casey. Marc Robillard, Jacques Fortin, Janet Little and Suzanne Boucher were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Chamberlain
Incumbent reeve Bill Dickinson was acclaimed back into office in Chamberlain. Richard Pollock, Shirley Blackburn, Robert Blackburn and Peter Ruel were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Charlton and Dack
Wayne Pawson defeated incumbent reeve Reta Allan in Charlton and Dack. Debbie Veerman, Merrill Bond, William Laurila and James Bott were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Cobalt
Tina Sartoretto was elected mayor of Cobalt. Sue Nielsen, George Othmer, Gino Chitaroni, Mike Harrison, Garry Bigelow and Pat Anderson were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Coleman
Dan Cleroux defeated incumbent mayor Colleen Belanger in Coleman. Lois Perry, Pat Tressider, Susan Côté and Cathy Marcella were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Englehart
Incumbent mayor Nina Wallace was acclaimed back into office in Englehart. Pauline Brassard, Douglas Metson, Dianne Peplinski, Twyla Wilson, Annette Wood-Wheeldon and Steph Palmateer were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Evanturel
Jack Briggs was acclaimed in Evanturel. John Simmons, Kandase Robertson, Derek Mundle and Cindy Kirkbride were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Harley
Gerald Roy will be the reeve of Harley. Auldin Bilow, Pauline Archambault, Clifford Fielder and Richard McNaughton will serve on council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Harris
Martin Auger was acclaimed in Harris. Wilda Gibson, Wayne Jelly, Peter Gibson and Alan Licop will serve on council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Hilliard
Morgan Carson will be the reeve of Hilliard. Dan Wark, Bruce Posch, Maurice Laframboise and Erwin Hirschbeck will serve on council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Hudson
Larry Craig was acclaimed in Hudson. Dan Morrow, Bryan McNair, Greg Seed and Martin Jarvis will serve on council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, James
Incumbent reeve Terry Fiset was acclaimed in James. Henry Baker, David Mullin, Bruce McShane and Janet MacDowall will serve on council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Kerns
Terry Phillips will serve as reeve of Kerns. Mark Lenover, Carter Seymour, Stephen Aitchison and Dennis Jib will serve on council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Kirkland Lake
Incumbent mayor Bill Enouy was re-elected in Kirkland Lake. Tony Antoniazzi, Normand Mino, Todd Morgan, Allan French, Jean-Guy Chamaillard and Tom Barker were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Larder Lake
Patricia Bodick was elected mayor of Larder Lake. Louise Valyear, Paul Kelly, Rickey Vachon and David Larocque were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Latchford
George Lefebvre defeated incumbent mayor Peter Davies in Latchford. Larry Anderson, Maxine Cannon, Theo Cull, Scott Green, Jo-Anne Cartner and Dave Willcock will serve on council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Matachewan
Incumbent reeve Bev Hine was re-elected in Matachewan. Joseph Bisson, Nelson Costello, Cheryl Drummond and Guy Dube were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, McGarry
Incumbent reeve Clermont Lapointe was re-elected in McGarry. Bonita Culhane, Matt Reimer, Elaine Fic and Jean-Yves Godin were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Temiskaming Shores
Judy Pace, the incumbent mayor of Temiskaming Shores, did not run for re-election. The election was won by Carman Kidd, a former reeve of Dymond Township prior to the municipal amalgamation of 2004. Doug Jelly, Mike McArthur, Bryan Thornton, Danny Whalen, Bob Hobbs and Jamie Morrow were elected to council.


2010 Timiskaming District municipal elections, Thornloe
Roy Vottero will serve as reeve of Thornloe. Pauline Charland, Allan Peddie, Pauline Peddie and Earl Reed will serve on council.


2010 Tippeligaen
The 2010 Tippeligaen was the 66th completed season of top division football in Norway. The competition began on 14 March and ended on 7 November. Rosenborg was the defending champions, having secured their twenty-first league championship in 2009. Haugesund, Hønefoss and Kongsvinger entered as the three promoted teams from the 2009 1. divisjon. They replaced Fredrikstad, Bodø/Glimt and Lyn who were relegated to the 2010 1. divisjon.


2010 Tippeligaen, Season summary
On 6 June, Lillestrøm scored three goals in four minutes and 24 seconds, two of them in injury time, to go from 3–0 down to 3–3 away at Molde. Sandefjord lost 5-0 away to Odd Grenland on 26 September. This was their 23rd consecutive top flight match without winning, breaking a record of 22 set by Os in 1975. The streak would continue for four matches, ending at 27 before Sandefjord won in their 28th attempt on the last day of the season, beating Hønefoss 6–1 at home. On 31 October, Rosenborg played Kongsvinger to a 0–0 draw away, making 2010 the second consecutive season without away losses for Rosenborg.


2010 Tippeligaen, Season summary
Kongsvinger and Sandefjord were relegated at the end of the 2010 Tippeligaen season after finishing in the bottom two places of the league table. Sandefjord ended a two-year tenure at the highest football level of Norway, while Kongsvinger returned to the 1. divisjon after just one season. They were replaced by 2010 1. divisjon champions Sogndal and runners-up Sarpsborg 08. Sogndal returned to the Tippeligaen after a six-year hiatus, while Sarpsborg 08 made its debut at the Norwegian top-level league.


2010 Tippeligaen, Season summary
Hønefoss as 14th-placed Tippeligaen team had to compete in a relegation/promotion playoff with the 1. divisjon teams ranked third through fifth (Fredrikstad, Løv-Ham and Ranheim) for one spot in the 2011 Tippeligaen. This spot was taken by Fredrikstad, who defeated Hønefoss 8–1 on aggregate in the playoff finals and returned to Norway's top flight after just one season. In turn, Hønefoss had to return to the 1. divisjon, also after just one season.


2010 Tippeligaen, Teams
Haugesund and Hønefoss were promoted directly from the 1. divisjon at the end of the 2009 season. Kongsvinger defeated Sarpsborg by 5–4 on aggregate in the final matches of the play-off round between the 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-placed team in the 1. divisjon and the 14th-placed team in the Tippeligaen, giving them the sixteenth and final spot.


2010 Tippeligaen, Teams, Team summaries
1Stabæk also played three home matches in May at Ullevaal Stadion because Telenor Arena was being used to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.


2010 Tippeligaen, Relegation play-offs
At the end of the season, Sandefjord and Kongsvinger were relegated directly to 1. divisjon, and were replaced by Sogndal and Sarpsborg who were directly promoted.


2010 Tippeligaen, Relegation play-offs
Four teams entered a play-off for the last Tippeligaen spot in the 2011 season. These were:


2010 Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship
The 2010 Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship was the 120th staging of the Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Tipperary County Board in 1887. The championship began on 18 September 2010 and ended on 31 October 2010.


2010 Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship
On 31 October 2010, Thurles Sarsfields won the championship after a 1-16 to 1-07 defeat of Clonoulty-Rossmore in the final at Semple Stadium. It was their 31st championship title overall and their second title in succession.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season
In 2010 Tipperary claimed their twenty sixth All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship title after a 4-17 to 1-18 win against Kilkenny in the final at Croke Park, Dublin on the 5 September.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 Waterford Crystal Cup
On 26 January, Tipperay started the new hurling year with a 1-12 to 0-17 point defeat to Clare in Borrisoleigh in the Waterford Crystal Cup Quarter-Final. The game was physical from the throw in and Clare dominated the majority of the game. Clare put over many brilliant scorers with Tipperary managing to keep in touch at half time, 0-10 to 0-6. Liam Sheedy decided to make some changes, bringing on Lar Corbett, Micheal Webster and Noel McGrath. Tipperary never got within a point of Clare during the game. Eoin Kelly also missed a penalty chance at goal. Tipp's Noel McGrath got the only goal and Tipperary were back within 2 points. Clare's backs never looked like being beaten and Tipperary got the last point of the game.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
After Tipp's first round game of the 2010 National Hurling League against Kilkenny called off twice due to bad weather, Tipps first game was against Dublin on the 28 February in Parnell Park. Tipperary started the game by scoring a penalty in the first minute. Dublin then got 6 points in a row to gain a lead they did not surrender.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
The first half was evenly fought with both teams hitting over points with Dublin keeping their lead The first sight of the new rules was evident as Dublin got a goal by knocking the ball out of Tipperary goalie Darren Gleeson's hands, which would have been called as a 'square ball' if the new rules were not in place. The second half began with Dublin taking the game and pulling away. Tipperary and Dublin both scorned goal chances and both tems hitting many wides. The game ended 1-21 to 1-12.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Tipperary finally got their first round game against Kilkenny underway on the 7 March 2010. Tipperary started off well, matching Kilkenny point for point. Eoin Kelly putting over all his frees. It was a low scoring first half, with both teams putting over 6 points each. With a minute to go in the first half, Eoin Kelly got the ball and turned to his right, putting the ball in the back of the Kilkenny net to make it 1-6 to 0-6. Kilkenny got two points straight after the resumption, but Tipperary kept putting over the points.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Tipperary never relinquished the lead. With ten minutes to go, A me-lee started by the players escalated into a confrontation between manager's Brian Cody and Liam Sheedy, but the referee Barry Kelly quickly handled the situation. Tipperary made it 1-13 to 0-13 near the finish and sub Jody Brennan put over the insurance point at the death, Tipperary winning 1-14 to 0-13.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Tipperary got their third league game underway against Galway in Semple Stadium on the 14th of March. Tipperary started out by giving away two early points, but a lucky goal from the '65 from Eoin Kelly, doubled on by John O'Brien and a point put them ahead. Galway still had the edge over Tipperary and got into a 0-8 to 1-1 lead. Tipperary finished off the half stronger, bring their deficit to 4 points, 0-13 to 1-6. The second half was much different for both teams.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Tipperary hit three consecutive points, before Noel McGrath scored their second goal, leading 2-9 to 0-13. Galway then scored their first and only point of the second half, but Eoin Kelly hitting two more points to see a 2-12 to 0-14 lead. Tipperary got five more points to close off the game, beating Galway 2-17 to 0-14.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Tipp's 4th round game was against Limerick in the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick. The game started off with Tipperary and Limerick getting their opening points early on, but the contest ended there. Tipperary went to score a goal after 25 minutes when Timmy Hammersley rasped in a shot. The half time score 1-10 to 0-2. The second half began with Limerick player Dean Madden being sent off and then substitute John O'Brien scored Tipperary's second goal, to make it 2-15 to 0-2. Tipperary continued to hit points, but Limerick also hit six points in the second half. The score ended 2-24 to 0-8.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Tipp's 5th round game was against Waterford in Semple Stadium on the 28th of March. The game was 0-2 to 0-0 at 7 minutes with Tipperary getting the first point nearly 10 minutes into the first half. Timmy Hammersley scored to bring it to a point. Tipperary led by three points 0-9 to 0-6, before Stephen Molumphy scored the goal for Waterford to level it up. The first half ended with Tipperary leading by a point, 0-13 to 1-9. The second half started out at blistering, near championship pace.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Noel McGrath missed a penalty to put Tipperary ahead but Noel McGrath made up for it with another strike later on, this time it was a goal. Waterford kept answering back with a well-struck 20 metre free from Eoin Kelly, which landed in the net. Tipperary led by a point in the closing stages, but Eoin Kelly from Waterford slotted over a free to level it up. The referee, who added one minute of injury time, didn't play the minute and blew it up. The final score was 1-19 to 2-16.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Tipp's 6th round game was against Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on the 4th of April. Cork started off the better, getting two opening points, but Eoin Kelly levelled it up with two frees. Cork then took a four-point lead, 0-6 to 0-2. Both exchanged points, but Cork finished the half the stronger with a 0-11 to 0-7 scoreline, their last point coming from a free that resulted from a controversial line ball. The second half began with Tipperary the stronger.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Cork keeper Martn Coleman saved a rasping shot from Lar Corbett with Eoin Kelly failing to put in the rebound. Shane McGrath and Eoin Kelly scoring two points to put it 0-11 to 0-9. Two quick points from Paul Kelly resulted in 0-11 tally each, before Gearoid Ryan putting over the leading score. Paul Kelly then took on a massive run, running past the Cork backs before hitting a low shot into Cork's net to make it 1-12 to 0-11.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Cork quickly responded with a shot saved by Brendan Cummins, but a good piece of skill saw Pat Horgan sending in the rebound. Cork quickly equalized, but Tipperary kept putting over points. Cork finally got the leading score and then led by two with a great run from Shane O'Neill resulting in a scored free. Tipperary brought it back to a point game, but couldn't find the equalizer. Cork winning the game 1-16 to 1-15.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Tipp's 7th and last round game was against Offaly in O'Connor Park, Tullamore on the 18th of April. Tipperary started off well, getting a 0-4 to 0-2 lead, but Tipperary and Offaly traded points afterwards. The game was close and at half time, the score was 0-11 to 0-7. The second half started out with Offaly taking the initiative and putting over the points. Tipperary stayed ahead, but Offay's Shane Dooley got a goal. Tipperary were two points behind, but soon conceded another Shane Dooley goal within 2 minutes of his first one.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 National Hurling League
Tipperary started putting over points to bring the deficit down to two points. With injury time almost up, Tipperary got a free on the 20 metre line. Seamus Callanan stepped up to take it. Only a goal would win the match, seeing as when the ball would go over a boundary, the game would be over. He took the ball and struck it low into the net to give Tipperary a one-point win and third place in the league table.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Tipperary started out their Munster championship campaign against Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on 30 May. The winner had the chance of playing Limerick in the semi-final, which was a mismatch for both teams. In a competitive sense, a Munster semi-final. Tipperary started out getting a point in the opening few minute, but Cork soon replied. Tipperary got two more points to make it a 0-3 to 0-1 lead, but Cork soon led. With just 13 minutes gone, Aisike O'hAilpin caught a ball above Padraig Maher and was brought down for a penalty.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Pat Horgan had taken a penalty last year, but missed. This year he did the opposite and gave Cork a 1-1 to 0-3 lead. Lar Corbett had a chance beforehand to score a goal, but a great Save from Donal Óg sent it for a 65'. Cork then got two more points to get a three-point lead. Just a few minutes later, Cork was up again and Pat Horgan cracked in another fine goal to give Cork a 2-5 to 0-9 lead at half time. Tipperary reduced the lead back to a point, but Cork answered them again.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Cork then scored five points on the trot before Tipperary scored again. With 10 minutes remaining, Cork's Jerry O'Connor gave a handpass to a free Aisike O'hAilpin who drove the ball into the net for the killing blow. Tipperary scored only a small four points in the second half to be beaten by the Rebel's, 3-15 to 0-14 points.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Tipp's qualifier round 1 game was against Wexford in Semple Stadium on 3 July. The winner would go on while the loser's championship would be ended prematurely. Tipperary started off well, and by half time they were 0-15 to 0-7 up. Right after the second half began, the game was effectively killed with two goals from Lar Corbett plus two points from play. The pace of the game slowed down and Tipperary ran the game out winners on the scoreline 3-24 to 0-19.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Tipp's qualifier round 3 game was against Offaly in O'Moore Park, Portlaoise on 18 July. The winner would be back in an All-Ireland quarter final. Tipperary and Offaly both started well, but Tipperary started putting more points away and were leading by six points, 0-7 to 0-1 after 20 minutes. Tipperary finished out the half with a 9-point lead, 0-14 to 0-5 points.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Offaly battled hard in the second half, but Tipperary kept putting away the points and never relinquished the lead below 8 points until the final minute of the game, when the Tipperary backs were caught off guard and Offaly slotted home a goal to put the deficit to 6. The final score 0-21 to 1-12 to Tipp.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Tipperary were back in Croke park once again for their All-Ireland quarter final clash with Galway. The game started out at a blistering pace with Tipperary and Galway getting scores. It was 0-4 to 0-1 till Galway's Eanna Ryan made it 0-4 to 1-1 with a goal. It was point for point till the score was 1-3 to 0-6 then 'Bonnar' Maher caught a great ball and hand-passed it off to Eoin Kelly who finished it to give Tipperary a 1-6 to 1-3 lead. Galway kept fighting back and staying in the game.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Galway gained a three-point lead, but points from Kelly and Brendan Maher brought it down to one before substitute Seamus Callinan blasted home a goal to make it 2-8 to 1-9 at half time. Galway had more fight in them and gained the lead once more thanks to a goal from Damien Hayes after a bad mistake from Paul Curran. Tipperary battled back and the score was 2-10 a piece before Gearoid Ryan got Tipperary the lead 3-10 to 2-10. Galway then got a penalty and Joe Canning stepped up and scored.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Galway put over the points and were two points ahead with 5 minutes to go. Substitute John O'Brien scored a point and Gearoid added his point to tie it up with a minute to go. Other sub Pa Bourke got the ball on the 21-metre line and headed for goal before turning back and giving the ball to Lar Corbett. Lar Corbett put it over the bar for the lead.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Galway had one minute to get an equalising point and had the ball 21 metres out and there was a ruckus with many players from each team fighting for the ball with a Galway man lying on top of the ball. The ref deemed the ball wasn't going anywhere and blew up. Tipperary won 3-17 to 3-16.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Tipp's semifinal against Waterford was on 15 August in Croke Park. The match started off very evenly with both teams going point for point up until they were 0-5 each. Tipperary got a point before striking a goal from Lar Corbett, putting Tipperary 5 points ahead. Waterford got some points, but the half finished Tipperary 1–11 Waterford 0-8. Waterford started out the half strong and got the deficit back to three points, 1-12 to 0-12. However that was the closest they were going to get as Tipperary scored another goal, this time Eoin Kelly. Tipperary got more points and another goal from Eoin Kelly sealed the deal. With the game over before 5 minutes to go, Waterford snuck in and got a consolation goal from Eoin McGrath. The game ending on the score Tipperary 3–19, Waterford 1-18.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Tipperary reached the All-Ireland final for their second time in a row to face last year's opponents Kilkenny on 5 September. The match began well as Kilkenny struggled for some time when they lost Henry Shefflin through injury. Tipperary got a goal in the tenth minute struck by Lar Corbett which gave Tipperary a 5-point lead. Kilkenny did have a goal chance soon afterwards but was comfortably dealt with by Brendan Cummins. Kilkenny however got back in the game with points from Richie Power.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Power scored Kilkenny's only goal just before half-time, but Tipperary made sure Kilkenny never got the lead and Tipperary went in at half-time Tipperary 1–10 Kilkenny 1-9. Kilkenny began the second half with points from Richie Power and the captain T.J. Reid to level up the game. However, Kilkenny never led as Tipperary regained points by captain Eoin Kelly before Lar Corbett struck Tipp's second goal in the 41st minute. Two minutes later, Noel Mcgrath fired Tipp's third goal past P.J. Ryan to certainly Kilkenny's 5 in a row. With under 3 minutes to go, Lar Corbett struck his third goal of the match and it ended Tipperary 4–17 Kilkenny 1-18 and Tipperary were crowned All-Ireland champions for the first time in nine years.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, All Ireland Homecoming
The Tipperary team arrived back to Thurles by train on 6 September after the traditional stop at Our Ladies Children's Hospital with the Cup earlier in the day. They then boarded an open top bus for the journey to the reception at Semple Stadium where an estimated 40,000 supporters turned out to welcome the team home to a rainy Thurles. There was another huge crowd in Mullinahone the night after when Eoin Kelly, the first south Tipperary man to captain Tipperary to All-Ireland senior success, brought the cup home.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, Awards
The nominations for the 2010 GAA All Stars Awards were announced on 24 September 2010. Tipperary had 14 players nominated for awards, winning captain Eoin Kelly was going for his sixth All-Star while final hat-trick scorer Lar Corbett was hoping to pick up his second award. At the awards ceremony on 15 October 2010, Tipperary won six All Star awards, Brendan Cummins, Paul Curran, Brendan Maher, Noel McGrath, Lar Corbett and Eoin Kelly won awards. Lar Corbett was named All Stars Hurler of the year while Brendan Maher collected the All Stars Young hurler of the year award.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, Awards
Tipperary's Lar Corbett and Brendan Maher were also shortlisted for the GPA Hurler of the Year award for 2010. On 5 November, Corbett was named as the GPA Hurler of the year for 2010, and received a new Opel Astra car worth €25,000. Corbett and Maher were joined in the nominations for the GPA team of the year by ten of their Tipperary teammates. Tipperary won seven places on the GPA team of the year, all of their All Star award winners in addition to Pádraic Maher who was named at left-half back, replacing Kilkenny's JJ Delaney in the only difference to the 2010 All Star team.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, Aftermath
On 11 September 2010, six days after the Senior final, the Tipperary Under-21 Hurling team completed the double by winning the All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship against Galway by 5-22 to 0-12 at Semple Stadium to claim their ninth title. Five members of the victorious senior starting team started for Tipperary in the Under-21 final, Pádraic Maher, Michael Cahill, Brendan Maher, Noel McGrath, and Patrick Maher. Senior substitutes Séamus Hennessy, Brian O'Meara and Michael Heffernan also started for the Under-21 team.


2010 Tipperary county hurling team season, Season summary, Aftermath
On 7 October 2010 it was announced that Liam Sheedy would be stepping down from his position as the Tipperary manager. Sheedy and his selectors, who found themselves working up to 16 hours a day during their three-year term, cited work commitments as the reason for stepping down and Sheedy thanked the board for their “top class” support. In December 2010, Sheedy was named the Philips Sports Manager of the Year for 2010 for managing Tipperary to their All Ireland win. In November 2010, Tipperary half back Declan Fanning announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico
The 2010 Tirreno–Adriatico was the 45th running of the Tirreno–Adriatico stage race. It started on 10 March and finished on 16 March. The race started in Livorno and ended San Benedetto del Tronto. The race was won by Stefano Garzelli after gaining 2 seconds in intermediate sprints in the last stage which tied him for first with Michele Scarponi; Garzelli held the tiebreaker, combined stage finishes.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Teams
Twenty-two teams started the race. These included sixteen UCI ProTour teams, including the provisionally-licensed Lampre–Farnese Vini, and six UCI Professional Continental teams. These teams, along with three others, also contested Milan–San Remo.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 1
The race of two seas began with a mostly flat stage from Livorno on the Tyrrhenian coast to Rosignano Solvay. The riders took a finishing circuit in the arrival town, seeing the finish line twice.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 1
A lone rider from ISD–NERI comprised this stage's major breakaway. Dmytro Grabovskyy slipped away early and quickly built an advantage of over five minutes. The peloton, battered by the freezing rain that almost kept the stage from being run at all, was content to let him stay away until the 40 km (25 mi) to go mark, when the Liquigas–Doimo and Garmin–Transitions teams set to bringing him back in the hopes of setting up a potential mass sprint finish for their top sprinters Daniele Bennati and Tyler Farrar.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 1
Grabovskyy was caught with 22 km (14 mi) left to race, and Euskaltel–Euskadi's Pablo Urtasun took the opportunity to counter-attack, being joined after a short while by Niki Terpstra from Team Milram. They were away until the 8 km (5.0 mi) to go mark, and another move took shape when they were caught, including Terpstra's team leader Linus Gerdemann and Matti Breschel.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 1
Despite never holding even ten seconds advantage over the main field, and not having an appreciable gap over them at the finish line, they were able to contest the stage among themselves and deny the pure sprinters the chance. Gerdemann came around Pablo Lastras' early leadout to take the stage win and the first blue jersey as race leader. With the time bonus at the finish line, he became the first leader of the race with a four-second advantage over Lastras. Gerdemann was also awarded the red jersey as points classification leader; Lastras wore it during stage two.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 2
Stage two contained a categorized climb after just 6 km (3.7 mi), but following the descent from that climb the course was a plateau with no further raises in elevation of any consequence. The stage started and ended in the same town, and concluded with a 5-lap circuit with repeated visits to a short hill.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 2
Four riders again tried their luck to contest the stage win among themselves in a breakaway, but on this day the sprinters would not be denied. The four were Mikhail Ignatiev, Diego Caccia, Alan Pérez, and Alan Marangoni, who escaped 11 km (6.8 mi) into the stage. They built up an advantage of over four minutes, while race leader Linus Gerdemann's Milram team rode a tempo at the front of the peloton.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 2
Various teams representing strong sprinters worked to reel in the escape toward the end of the stage, and three of them were caught 3.5 km (2.2 mi) from the finish line. Ignatiev tried to counter-attack as the catch occurred, but the blazing speed with which Liquigas–Doimo was driving the peloton at the time meant that it was only a few seconds until the Russian too was brought back. Liquigas-Doimo led out the sprint in the final kilometer, but their top sprinter Daniele Bennati was unable to take advantage. Belgian national champion Tom Boonen began his sprint first, but was able to hold on to the finish line for the win. The win, and the time bonus it afforded, left Boonen tied with Gerdemann on time in the general classification.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 3
Stage 3 was the last in Tuscany. This course had two categorized climbs in the final 30 km (19 mi) before the peloton reaches Monsummano Terme. There were three uncategorized rises in elevation before that point, and a lengthy flat stretch to the finish.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 3
The day's escapees were Sebastian Lang, Cameron Wurf, and Diego Caccia. By virtue of being in the breakaway for the second day in a row, Caccia took the lead in the mountains classification after the stage from his teammate Dmytro Grabovskyy. Wurf was the last of them to be caught, on the final climb of the day.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 3
The main field was all together for a sprint finish, but this was nearly not the case, as ten riders broke away on the descent from the last climb, including overall contenders like defending champion Michele Scarponi, last year's runner-up Stefano Garzelli, and the Liquigas–Doimo duo of Vincenzo Nibali and Roman Kreuziger. This breakaway group had 18 seconds on the main field with 5 km (3.1 mi) left to race, but they were unable to ride as cohesively as the peloton, who caught them just before they reached the red kite indicating 1 km (0.62 mi) to the finish line.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 3
Just as they had the previous day, the Liquigas-Doimo squad executed an efficient leadout for their top sprinter Daniele Bennati. Unlike the previous day, Bennati used it to his full advantage, winning the stage over Alessandro Petacchi, Bernhard Eisel, and Tyler Farrar. The time bonus at the line made Bennati the new race leader. He also took the lead in the points classification – previous race leader Linus Gerdemann dons the red jersey for stage 4.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 4
The profile for this long stage, entering the region of Abruzzo, is bumpy, with many climbs, both categorized and uncategorized. The riders head east and slightly to the south to Chieti and will nearly reach the Adriatic Sea. The final 3 km (1.9 mi) are especially difficult, with stretches containing maximum gradients of 19%.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 4
The peloton reeled in many early attacks on this stage, and the day's principal breakaway did not form until 34 km (21 mi) had been covered. The seven escapees were Rubén Pérez, Vasil Kiryienka, Marco Frapporti, Maarten Wynants, Paolo Longo Borghini, Vladimir Efimkin, and Italian national champion Filippo Pozzato, who did much of the pacemaking for the group. Their biggest advantage over the main field was 8'30", at the halfway point of the stage. BMC Racing Team and Acqua & Sapone did the majority of the pacemaking at the front of the peloton, as overnight race leader Daniele Bennati was quickly dropped on this stage, eventually finishing 12 minutes back of the stage winner.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 4
The break still had 3 minutes on the main field with 25 km (16 mi) left to race, though several riders tried escapes from the peloton before the breakaway was caught, indicating that they did not believe the group could stay away. Astana riders Alexander Vinokourov and Enrico Gasparotto both tried their luck, but could neither stay away nor bridge to the leaders. Vincenzo Nibali then attacked, and drew with him defending Tirreno–Adriatico champion Michele Scarponi.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 4
In the lead of the race, Kiryienka dropped his remaining breakaway companions and tried to solo to the line inside of the last 5 km (3.1 mi). Nibali and Scarponi quickly absorbed all of them, and at that point had Maxim Iglinsky and Stefano Garzelli in tow in their leading group. No one could answer Scarponi's subsequent attack, which gave him the stage win and the blue jersey. He finished 14 seconds the better of Benoît Vaugrenard, who had come up from what remained of the main field to finish with Garzelli's group.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 4
Due to the narrow, twisting roads on which the stage finished, Vaugrenard had not seen Scarponi cross the finish line, and he thought he had won the stage when he led his group across the line. Nibali was unable to maintain the pace of this group and lost a further 7 seconds to them, finishing 21 back of Scarponi.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 5
The first half of this stage, which saw the peloton ride directly alongside the Adriatic coast, was flat, but the second half contained several climbs. The final 18 km (11 mi) were removed from the course due to poor road conditions, leaving out the originally scheduled final climb, one that reaches a 20% maximum grade. The resultant course featured a smaller, but still difficult, summit finish.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 5
An eleven-rider breakaway formed early in the stage, but it did not come close to staying away, as only Marco Pinotti from this group was out front for any length of time. He was caught with a good 55 km (34 mi) left to race. Race leader Michele Scarponi's Androni Giocattoli team set a furious pace to control the main field, even though two of its riders crashed hard. José Serpa finished the stage, continuing to take pulls at the front of the main field, covered in dirt with a blood-streaked face meagerly patched up by a bandage.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 5
A counter-attack from Juan José Oroz as the time Pinotti was caught got the Basque rider clear for most of the remainder of the stage. Astana's Enrico Gasparotto bridged across to him just before the short but nearly vertical climb to Colmurano which concluded the stage. Cadel Evans, Stefano Garzelli and Maxim Iglinsky next bridged from the Scarponi group to the leaders, and Evans tapped out a pace to get them to the finish line first. Despite having been in the flats in his bridge up to Oroz, Gasparotto still had the legs to come around Evans and claim the stage win. Scarponi retained the overall lead, but his advantage was narrowed.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 6
Stage six is hilly, concluding with a 4-lap circuit that involves a visit to the Macerata climb each lap. The first and third laps will count the climb towards the mountains classification, while for the second pass it will be considered an intermediate sprint.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 6
Twelve riders from twelve teams broke away at the 8 km (5.0 mi) mark. The best-placed riders in this group were Paul Martens of Rabobank and Simon Špilak from Lampre–Farnese Vini, respectively 1'36" and 1'48" back of race leader Michele Scarponi as the day began. The significance of 12 different teams being represented in the break was that Scarponi's Androni Giocattoli team did not get much help in setting a pace for the peloton to bring them back, as teams do not normally help chase down breakaways when they have a rider in them.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 6
Androni Giocattoli rode a deliberate pace for much of the stage, with the breakaway's time gap hovering at around two minutes most of the day. As the end of the stage neared, the main field had closed the gap to under a minute, meaning Martens and Špilak did not stand to threaten Scarponi's overall lead. This caused Androni Giocattoli to ease up on their pace, but they nonetheless absorbed 11 of the breakaway riders before the finish, since the hilly parcours did not suit most of those riders.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 6
The one who got away was Team Katusha's Mikhail Ignatiev, a time trial specialist who shed his breakaway mates with 8 km (5.0 mi) remaining and was able to pace himself to the line for the stage win. A hectic final kilometer for the race's top contenders was resolved when Stefano Garzelli and Cadel Evans broke away from a small group containing Scarponi. They finished 2 seconds better than the race leader, but more importantly, both won time bonuses. Scarponi retained the race leader's blue jersey heading into the final day, but by a margin of just 2 seconds to Garzelli and 12 to Evans.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 7
The first 60 km (37 mi) of this course contained two categorized climbs, but from that point on the stage was perfectly flat to the finish. The race concluded with a seven-lap circuit in San Benedetto del Tronto, with intermediate sprint points available on the third and fifth laps.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 7
AG2R Citroën Team rider Blel Kadri formed a solo breakaway soon after the true beginning of the stage. He stayed out front for 100 km (62 mi). With the intermediate sprints affording 3, 2, and 1 bonus seconds, Acqua & Sapone had a vested interest in chasing him down, since the sprints could move their team leader Stefano Garzelli past Michele Scarponi for the race's overall classification. The first sprint took place 40 km (25 mi) from the end of the stage. Francesco Ginanni won the first sprint, ahead of José Joaquin Rojas and Garzelli.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 7
This put Garzelli one second behind Scarponi. In the second intermediate sprint, 20 km (12 mi) from the line, Ginanni and Androni Giocattoli teammate Jackson Rodriguez easily took the first two places, but Acqua & Sapone successfully led Garzelli out to again get third. This left the two exactly tied on time, but Garzelli held the tiebreaker for better stage placings over the course of all seven days of racing. While 10, 6, and 4 bonus seconds were available for the first three across the finish line, neither team figured to be able to control the upcoming mass sprint. This meant Garzelli had won the race's overall classification by the thinnest of margins.


2010 Tirreno–Adriatico, Stages, Stage 7
The teams of the sprinters came forward in the final 10 km (6.2 mi) to set up the finale. Mark Cavendish, who had missed out on the previous sprint finishes, crashed hard with 8 km (5.0 mi) and missed an opportunity to contest this sprint. Assan Bazayev and Rui Costa also crashed. Team Sky controlled the race in the final kilometer, and delivered Edvald Boasson Hagen to the line in first position.


2010 Tocantins gubernatorial election
The Tocantins gubernatorial election was held on October 3, 2010 to elect the next Governor of Tocantins. Incumbent Governor Carlos Gaguim was running for his first full term, but lost narrowly to the PSDB's Siqueira Campos.


2010 Togolese presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Togo on 4 March 2010. Incumbent President Faure Gnassingbé—who won his first term in a presidential election that followed the death of his father, long-time President Gnassingbé Eyadema, in 2005—faced radical opposition candidate Jean-Pierre Fabre, the Secretary-General of the Union of the Forces of Change (UFC), as well as several minor opposition candidates.


2010 Togolese presidential election
Following the democratization process of the early 1990s, which proved largely abortive, Eyadema and his ruling party, the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), successively won all presidential elections, although those elections were always extremely controversial: the opposition boycotted the 1993 presidential election altogether, and it claimed that Eyadema won the 1998 presidential election and the 2003 presidential election only through fraud. Eyadema died in 2005 and his son Faure Gnassingbé then ran as the RPT candidate; although he officially won the election, the opposition again disputed the result, and serious violence erupted.


2010 Togolese presidential election
Ahead of the 2010 election, the Togolese government took steps to increase the credibility of the electoral process and reassure the international community that the election would be free and fair. It placed a particular priority on avoiding the violence that marred the 2005 election. Gnassingbé stood for a second term as the candidate of the RPT, while the UFC designated Fabre as its candidate due to health problems suffered by its President, Gilchrist Olympio. Although the UFC was the largest opposition party by a large measure, and although the election was to be decided in a single round on a first past the post basis, the other opposition parties largely refused to rally behind Fabre and chose to nominate their own candidates.


2010 Togolese presidential election
Provisional results showed Gnassingbé winning the election with 61% of the vote, while Fabre trailed with 34%. The opposition again alleged fraud, denouncing the method by which the results were transmitted to the electoral commission, and subsequently held regular protests in Lomé. The results were confirmed by the Constitutional Court and Gnassingbé was sworn in for a second term on 3 May 2010.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Background
The election was conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI). The 17 members of CENI were sworn in on 1 September 2009; it was composed of five representatives of the ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), five representatives of the parliamentary opposition, three representatives of the extra-parliamentary opposition, three representatives of civil society, and one representative of the administration. Henri Kolani, a representative of the extra-parliamentary opposition, was then elected as President of CENI, but the parliamentary opposition objected to his election.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Background
At a press conference on 18 September 2009, Kolani announced an electoral schedule: preparations for the election would begin in October 2009, the official election campaign period would run from 13 to 26 February 2010, and the election would be held on 28 February 2010. He stressed that hard work was necessary to ensure that the election was held before the constitutional deadline. The parliamentary opposition ignored Kolani's announcement.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Background
The controversy over the election of Kolani interfered with CENI's work, and as a result, Issifou Tabiou Taffa—a representative of civil society—was elected by consensus as President of CENI on 14 October 2009, resolving the controversy. Tabiou Taffa was not a member of any political party and was an obscure figure at the time of his election as CENI President. On that occasion, he stressed that CENI's work would be "collegial".


2010 Togolese presidential election, Background
On 23 December 2009, the European Union announced a grant of six billion CFA francs (9.1 million euro) to Togo in order to facilitate the organization of "free, just, transparent and peaceful elections, in line with international standards" and to "strengthen the capacities" of CENI and the High Authority for the Audiovisual Sector and Communications for future elections.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Background
As the election drew nearer, greater government activity and social spending was observed; infrastructure was built or improved and recruitment to the civil service was increased. Speaking on TVT on 30 December 2009, Pascal Bodjona, the Minister of State for Territorial Administration, said that the government was merely doing what was best for the people and that the government's work was unrelated to the election.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Background
The EU committed to sending an additional five billion CFA francs at a meeting with the Togolese government on 22 January 2010, and it announced on 1 February that it would have 122 observers present for the election.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Background
On 11 February 2010, the election was delayed from 28 February to 4 March at the request of the opposition. As a result of the delay, the campaign period was modified and set to run from 16 February to 2 March. CENI President Tabiou Taffa announced the official opening of the campaign, set to begin at midnight, on 15 February. In his statement, he said that revisions of the voter list had produced "a reliable voter list of 3,295,646 voters". He also urged the opposition representatives to return to CENI, which they had abandoned in protest.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Background
The security forces voted on 1 March—three days before the general population—so that they would be available to maintain order on election day.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
Togo's main opposition party, the UFC, unanimously chose Olympio, its long-time leader, as its presidential candidate at the party's Second Ordinary Congress, held in Nyékonakpoé, Lomé on 18–19 July 2008. Some other early announced candidates were the minor opposition leader Dahuku Péré, who led the Democratic Alliance for the Fatherland, as well as Kofi Yamgnane, who held dual nationality and served in the government of France under François Mitterrand.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
The Democratic Convention of African Peoples (CDPA) designated Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson, a member of its steering committee, as its presidential candidate in early January 2010. She was the first woman to stand as a presidential candidate in Togo. At a meeting of its National Council, with 350 delegates in attendance, the Pan-African Democratic Party (PDP), a minor party, invested the university professor Bassabi Kagbara as its presidential candidate on 9 January 2010.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
Although RPT activists, both in Togo and abroad, called for President Faure Gnassingbé to run for re-election over the course of several months, he deferred any formal announcement of his candidacy. It was nevertheless assumed that he would run for re-election and that he would be confirmed as the RPT candidate at a party convention at the Palace of Congress in Lomé on 12 January 2010.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
He was accordingly invested as the RPT candidate at the convention, although he was not present; his Personal Representative, Folly Bazi Katari, confirmed that he accepted the nomination in accordance with "the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Togolese". Speaking on the occasion, RPT Secretary-General Solitoki Esso credited Gnassingbé with vast accomplishments, saying that—among other things—he had improved the political atmosphere, organized transparent elections, ended Togo's international isolation, and revitalized the economy. He also credited Gnassingbé with various accomplishments in the areas of health, education, infrastructure, employment, and social welfare.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
Agbéyomé Kodjo, a former Prime Minister leading the opposition Organisation to Build a United Togo (OBUTS), submitted his candidacy to CENI on 14 January 2010. Although the deadline for the submission of candidacies was 15 January, Kodjo was the first person to formally submit his candidacy. Upon learning that he was first, Kodjo declared that it was "a very good sign" and that he would also be "the first" to be declared the winner of the election. Kodjo fiercely denounced Gnassingbé's "disastrous" record, saying that the state budget needed to be increased, and he pledged "no fewer than 21 emergency measures to restore confidence and boost consumer spending after the presidential election".


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
On 15 January, long-time opposition leader Yawovi Agboyibo was formally invested as the candidate of the CAR.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
Eight candidates submitted applications to CENI by the deadline of 15 January: Gnassingbé as the RPT candidate, Jean-Pierre Fabre as the UFC candidate, Agboyibo as the CAR candidate, Kodjo as the OBUTS candidate, Adjamagbo-Johnson as the CDPA candidate, Nicolas Lawson as the PRR candidate, Yamgnane as the Sursaut candidate, and Kagbara as the PDP candidate. The candidates were predictable except for Fabre, whose designation as the UFC candidate was considered very surprising. UFC President Olympio, whose candidacy had long been announced and expected, was in the United States at the time, suffering from backache, and was unable to travel to Togo to undergo the necessary medical review for his candidacy. Consequently, the UFC submitted the candidacy of its Secretary-General, Jean-Pierre Fabre.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
Aside from Olympio, two candidacies were rejected: those of Dahuku Péré and Kokou Ségnon Nsoukpoe. According to CENI, neither of them submitted the necessary deposits of money.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
In a letter published on the UFC website on 16 January, Olympio said that the election should not be rushed and that CENI should be given "the time necessary for the preparation of a credible and transparent election". He said that his health was "rapidly improving" and that the authorities were considering his application. The letter made no mention of Fabre's candidacy.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
On 2 February 2010, the Constitutional Court validated the candidacies of seven of the eight candidates who were initially accepted by CENI. The only candidate rejected by the Constitutional Court was Kofi Yamgnane, who held joint dual nationality: the Court cited a contradiction between the date of birth given in his French documents (11 October 1945) and the date given in his Togolese documents (31 December 1945).


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
According to the Court, the contradiction was "of a nature to cause confusion over the identity of the person and consequently to weaken the legal and judicial security inherent in the highest office in the country". Yamgnane denounced the ruling, claiming its real motivation was to exclude "the most dangerous candidate for the RPT". Initially he vowed to appeal, but that was impossible because the judgments of the Constitutional Court were final; he then said that his only recourse was to "mobilize the street". He also said that, although the RPT imagined that it would "remain in power eternally", "we have the means to ensure that change happens in 2010 in Togo".


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
PRR President Nicolas Lawson, who was confirmed as a candidate, expressed his willingness to work with whichever candidate won the election. He also praised the peaceful atmosphere and harshly denounced the UFC President, saying that Olympio "always embodied violence, malice, and revenge, and I am very happy that he is not a candidate because his influence on Togo was fatal".


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
Reacting to the Constitutional Court's decision to validate his candidacy, UFC Secretary-General Fabre said that it was "unquestionably a message of hope for the Togolese people who aspire to a profound change". He also stressed that Olympio "embodies, more than any other, the ideals and values of our party" and that his own candidacy represented a commitment to continuing Olympio's work. Seeking to give the impression of solidarity amidst perceptions of internal disagreement, UFC First Vice-President Patrick Lawson said that the party was totally united behind Fabre's candidacy.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
Speaking on 9 February, Yamgnane said that he would meet six candidates (all except Gnassingbé) in Paris with the goal of reaching an agreement on a single opposition candidate, which would increase the opposition's chances of defeating Gnassingbé. He said that it would be most intuitive to select Fabre as the single candidate, although he stressed that was a "logical preference" rather than a "personal preference". The meeting of candidates was facilitated by François Boko, a former Interior Minister. It was largely unsuccessful, however, as the CAR candidate Agboyibo and the CDPA candidate Adjamagbo-Johnson both abandoned the effort. In a statement on 9 February, CDPA Secretary-General Léopold Gnininvi condemned the "cavalier" way the meeting was conducted, expressing annoyance that it was taken for granted that the candidates would all rally behind Fabre.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
Despite the failure to reach a consensus among the candidates, Agbéyomé Kodjo decided to withdraw his candidacy and rally behind Fabre, while Yamgnane also backed Fabre's candidacy. They agreed on the creation on a coalition called the Republican Front for Change and the Alternance to support Fabre; Kodjo was designated as the Front's campaign director, while Yamgnane was designated as its campaign spokesman.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
In an interview on 13 February, Jean-Claude Homawoo, who was one of the UFC's three representatives on CENI, insisted that Olympio was the legitimate UFC candidate because he, unlike Fabre, had been nominated by a party congress in 2008. He also claimed that the UFC was divided between Olympio loyalists and reformists, and he stated that he personally did not support Fabre's candidacy. According to Homawoo, Olympio was not suffering from an illness but rather was recovering from a fall down a flight of stairs, in which he broke his knee and bruised his back and neck. Kodjo, speaking on 14 February, also criticized the UFC's decision to withdraw from CENI work as well as the apparent dissension affecting the party leadership. He stressed that OBUTS did not support any boycott of the election.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
Agboyibo and Adjamagbo-Johnson announced on 15 February 2010 that they were suspending their candidacies, citing their still unresolved concerns about the voter rolls. Speaking on 15 February, PRR candidate Nicolas Lawson denounced the opposition, saying that Togo was cursed with the "most stupid and criminal opposition in the sub-region". According to Lawson, the opposition was a "band of thugs" with "no program and national vision" that "must disappear from the political landscape". Kodjo, dissatisfied with the UFC's behavior, announced on 15 February that he was reactivating his candidacy.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Candidates
In an interview with the news agency Agence France-Presse in mid-February 2010, Faure Gnassingbé stressed the importance of having a well-organized election free of violence. Acknowledging that the violence of the 2005 presidential election was "traumatic for many people", he said that the 2010 election would be a "big test" and that a victory under violent conditions would "almost be meaningless". Gnassingbé also said he regretted the absence of Gilchrist Olympio in the election because Olympio had "a rightful place in politics."


2010 Togolese presidential election, Campaign
On 17 February, four minor opposition groups—ADDI, the Alliance, the Socialist Renewal Party (PSR), and SURSAUT—joined the UFC in backing Fabre's candidacy. Together they reconstituted the opposition coalition as the Republican Front for the Alternance and Change (FRAC); Yamgnane remained its campaign spokesman, while Patrick Lawson was designated as campaign director. FRAC called on the CAR and OBUTS to join the coalition.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Campaign
Fabre said in an interview on 17 February that the coalition represented a majority of the opposition's electorate and that, in reference to the other parties, "it is up to them to join us"; expressing some exasperation, he said that "the ego is so strong in Togo that everyone thinks he can be President". He nevertheless said discussions would continue with the other parties and also insisted, in reaction to suggestions that the UFC was divided, that Olympio supported his candidacy. Regarding the UFC's suspended participation in CENI, he said that the UFC representatives would return to the body because it would be preposterous to participate in the election while boycotting the electoral commission.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Campaign
Gnassingbé launched his campaign in Atakpamé on 18 February 2010. On that occasion he asked the people to put their trust in him "to ensure a better future for all Togolese". Fabre launched his campaign in Lomé on 19 February. Speaking in Gnassingbé Eyadema's native region of Kara on 21 February, Kodjo said that, before breaking with President Eyadema in 2002, he was Eyadema's intended successor.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Campaign
Olympio broke his silence, which was the subject of much speculation, in a letter published on 21 February. In that letter, he expressed confidence in Fabre and told his supporters: "I will never forget the moments of enthusiasm and confidence you have always shown in all circumstances, and I thank you forever." In a radio interview on 23 February, however, he stressed that he was still in charge of the UFC. Regarding his delayed and arguably unenthusiastic endorsement of Fabre, he said that it had been necessary to consult with other political actors before backing Fabre, and he pointed to his health as the reason he was unable to accompany Fabre on the campaign trail.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Campaign
Nicolas Lawson alleged on 24 February that Gnassingbé was abusing state resources in the course of his campaign.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Campaign
Gnassingbé concluded his campaign with a rally in Kara on 2 March. On that occasion, he said that "the campaign has been exemplary for all candidates" and expressed certainty that the results would match the will of the people. He urged everyone in Togo to respect the results.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Campaign
During the campaign, the RPT distributed rice at a cost far below market value ("Faure rice"). The rice distribution was interpreted by many as a way of bribing people to vote for Gnassingbé. Fabre's supporters responded to the alleged bribery by chanting "we were not paid to be here" at campaign rallies. Bodjona, the Government Spokesman, dismissed the allegations of bribery; he said that the rice and other items were donated to the campaign by some of Gnassingbé's supporters.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Campaign
Gnassingbé's campaign posters and billboards were seemingly omnipresent in Lomé, vastly outnumbering those from the opposition. In its election report, the EU observer mission accused the RPT of exceeding the legal limit for campaign spending (around $100,000), but Bodjona said that claim was untrue.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Controversies, Election rules
In accordance with a 2002 constitutional amendment, the 2010 election will be decided in a single round of voting; the candidate with the highest number of votes—even if that number is less than 50%—wins the election without any need for a second round. The two main opposition parties, the Union of the Forces of Change (UFC) and the Action Committee for Renewal (CAR), strongly protested the single-round system.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Controversies, Election rules
UFC President Gilchrist Olympio insisted that the election should be held in two rounds, with the top two candidates in the first round proceeding to a second round. A two-round system could work to the UFC's benefit; as the main opposition party, its candidate might expect to place second in the first round and then win in the second round by obtaining the support of other opposition candidates who were defeated in the first round. (Abdoulaye Wade won the 2000 presidential election in Senegal in that manner.) Speaking before a crowd of hundreds of UFC supporters on 6 December 2009, Olympio warned that the UFC would not participate in the election if there was only one round and that "if the UFC does not participate, there will be no election in Togo."


2010 Togolese presidential election, Controversies, Election rules
In addition to its demand for a two-round system, the opposition sought a decrease in the deposit that candidates were required to pay; the amount was equivalent to about 44,000 dollars. Another opposition demand was the revision of the voter rolls. On 25 January 2010, six opposition candidates and three parties called for a resumption of the revision of the voter rolls as well as a delay of the election; they also argued that Gnassingbé was conducting an unofficial campaign before the start of the campaign period.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Controversies, Election rules
Government Spokesman Pascal Bodjona dismissed the opposition concerns; he said that the voter rolls had been established prior to the 2007 parliamentary election and that it was up to CENI to decide whether to resume revising them. Regarding Gnassingbé's alleged unofficial campaigning, Bodjona argued that Gnassingbé, as President, was merely working for the people: "he will not starve the people because of the electoral process". Bodjona additionally argued that the opposition only wanted a delay because they were unprepared for the election.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Controversies, Election rules
In order to improve the voter rolls, CENI announced on 26 January that people could register to vote at a hundred points across the country on 31 January. RPT Secretary-General Solitoki Esso released a statement on 28 January in which he accused the opposition of using the issue of revising the voter rolls as a delaying tactic.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Controversies, Election rules
At talks in Ouagadougou, mediated by Burkinabé President Blaise Compaoré, the RPT and the two main opposition parties—the UFC and the CAR—were unable to reach an agreement on opposition demands, the foremost of which was the revision of the voter rolls. The opposition also wanted a delay in the election, although Compaoré felt that it was necessary to hold the vote "between 28 February and 5 March to stay within the constitutional timeframe". A slight delay was announced on 11 February, however, as the date was pushed back from 28 February to 4 March.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Controversies, Election rules
Citing continuing concerns about the voter rolls and fears that the election would be a "masquerade", the UFC notified CENI that its three representatives on CENI were suspending their participation on 11 February. When announcing the UFC's decision, CENI stressed that "the electoral process is proceeding normally". One of the UFC's CENI representatives, Jean-Claude Homawoo, refused to accept his party's decision and said that he would continue his work on CENI unless Olympio told him to stop.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Controversies, Corruption
Vincent Bolloré, a French billionaire close to then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy, allegedly gave financial support to presidential candidate Faure Gnassingbé in the 2010 Togolese presidential election. He is suspected of having offered Gnassingbé discount on advertisements from his ad agency, which he didn't equally offer to his opponent Jean-Pierre Fabre. Gnassingbé went on to become Togolese president and gave Bolloré's company port concessions. Bolloré formally denies any wrongdoing.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
In light of the violence that followed the 2005 election, it was particularly important to CENI that the election proceed peacefully. Speaking on 3 March, CENI President Taffa Tabiou noted that campaigning, which had concluded late on the previous day, was conducted amidst "calm and serenity", and he expressed CENI's commitment "to organising a just, fair and transparent election devoid of violence, to ensure that Togo ... finds its place in the comity of modern democracies".


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
A peaceful vote was also strongly desired by the government and the RPT, which sought to avoid the opprobrium associated with perceptions of a flawed election and repression of the opposition. Togo had suffered from international isolation during the latter phase of President Eyadema's rule due to the widespread belief that he had rigged elections and employed violence against the opposition; the 2005 election, which followed Eyadema's death, served to only amplify those concerns, but afterward Eyadema's son made a concerted effort to project a better image internationally. The creation of an independent electoral commission was noted by the Western media, as was the "fair" coverage given by the government's news website to opposition candidates.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
In light of the emphasis on having a peaceful vote, security forces had a heavy presence; 3,000 police and 3,000 gendarmes were assigned the task of preventing electoral violence. There were also efforts to educate voters in the prevention of electoral violence.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
Polls were open from 7:00 am (0700 GMT) to 5:00 pm (1700 GMT) on 4 March. Fabre, who voted in Lomé, said on the occasion that "during the campaign, I went round the country and heard a distress call, a desire for change", and he warned the government to not rig the election: "The people will make sure their vote will not be changed." Voting proceeded peacefully and without incident, but the UFC immediately began pointing to issues that it identified as irregularities, such as the absence of serial numbers on the ballot papers.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
Amidst an atmosphere of deep distrust, a post-election controversy rapidly developed regarding the means of transmitting results to CENI. Seeking to establish a reliable transmission method, a delegation from the European Union had met with Gnassingbé on 3 March and obtained his last-minute agreement to use the VSAT satellite system to transmit the results directly from each polling station. CENI accepted the use of the satellite system alongside text messaging and faxing.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
However, following the vote, Taffa Tabiou said on 5 March that the VSAT machines had failed and that it would therefore be necessary for all 35 electoral district directors to bring physical proof of the results to Lomé. That was unacceptable to the UFC, which said that results not transmitted through VSAT could not be trusted; it claimed that the machines had not failed but were simply switched off by the government.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
Fabre held a press conference on 5 March to declare victory, claiming that he had won about 75–80% of the vote; he also accused the RPT of electoral fraud and said that the results being sent to CENI had no credibility. Later on the same day, Bodjona, the Government Spokesman, claimed that Gnassingbé had won "resoundingly". Lomé remained calm but also tense in the absence of official results. Some opposition supporters threatened violence if Fabre was not declared the winner and chanted "change or death". RPT Secretary-General Esso accused the UFC of making false claims about the results and said that it was laying the groundwork for violence.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
Despite the opposition's complaints, district officials followed Taffa Tabiou's instructions in bringing their results to Lomé. Those results only indicated the total votes for each district; they did not include specific counts from each polling station, and the officials did not bring actual ballots. Jean-Claude Codjo, one of the opposition's representatives on CENI, argued the system was unacceptable because each set of results being presented to CENI merely constituted a "synthesis": "I have no way of knowing if these numbers that are being read out are real." Codjo left the CENI meeting in protest, along with another of the opposition's representatives.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
Results from 20 of the constituencies were counted by mid-day on 6 March, showing Gnassingbé leading Fabre by a margin of 52% to 43%; the results followed the typical regional breakdown of elections in Togo, with the RPT dominating the north and the UFC receiving the bulk of its support in the south. Seeing that the results were going Gnassingbé's way, a group of Fabre's supporters protested in Lomé, but the protest was broken up with tear gas.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
Taffa Tabiou announced full provisional results late on 6 March. Those results showed Gnassingbé winning the election with 60.9% of the vote (1,243,044 votes), far ahead of Fabre, who received 33.94% (692,584 votes). Yawovi Agboyibo trailed in a distant third place with 2.96%. According to Taffa Tabiou, voter turnout was 64.68%. Significantly, the turnout varied greatly by region: it was 70–80% in the north—the RPT's stronghold—but far lower in the traditionally pro-UFC south (including Lomé).


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
Jean-Claude Homawoo, an opposition representative on CENI, said that opposition supporters were totally disillusioned with the electoral process: "So many times we went and voted in elections we knew we had won, only for the opposite result to be declared. So people have become tired. They don't believe their vote counts anymore." Esso, the RPT Secretary-General, described the result as "great victory that gives us a lot of satisfaction and wipes off any doubts about the process", while Bodjona dismissed the opposition as "bad losers". For its part, the EU observer mission released a report that noted the accusations of vote-buying by the RPT, but also suggested there was no evidence to support opposition claims of outright fraud.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
Fabre alleged that the RPT had told his supporters that their fingerprints on the ballots could be traced and that they could therefore be hunted down and punished for their votes. He also repeated the accusations of vote-buying and "massive" fraud. Declaring that he was "ready to die", Fabre led a group of UFC supporters in a protest on 7 March: "We're going to make them exhaust their stock of tear gas. We cannot let this go on, otherwise they'll hang on to power for the next 200 years." Although UFC supporters formed a protective cordon around Fabre, he was sprayed with tear gas and the protesters were forced to disperse, fleeing back to the UFC headquarters.


2010 Togolese presidential election, Conduct
Reacting to the previous day's protests, the security forces formed a blockade around UFC headquarters on 8 March. Fabre, trying to reach his office, was initially barred from entry, but after an hour he was allowed through the blockade. The UFC announced that it would hold a large protest on 9 March to press for a review of the results; however, the protest was thwarted by the police. Also on 9 March, Fabre alleged that the security forces searched the UFC headquarters, seized computers, and arrested party members, interfering with the party's efforts to prepare evidence of fraud.