SECTOR 3 According to some panelists, however, the procedure for appointing members to the High Authority goes against the spirit and the letter of the law. Of the 9 members of the body, 4 are in fact nominated by the President of the Republic - in compliance with the criteria laid down by law, but at his discretion. The other 5 members are elected by the National Assembly, 2 of them from a list submitted by the most representative organisations of journalists and communication technicians. This, according to one participant “puts the independence of the body from the ruling party and the majority in the National Assembly into question”. The 3 remaining positions are filled by calling for the nomination of independent candidates. However, one panelist said that the National Assembly has on occasion bypassed this provision by electing only one member from the list proposed by the professional bodies, arguing that the second professional candidate should come from the public press sector. To this end, a professional from the state media had previously been encouraged to submit his name as an independent candidate. Other panelists do not share the doubts expressed about the independence and impartiality of the HAAC. In their view it is up to members to perform their duties according to the law and independently from those who nominated and elected them. “It is primarily a matter of personal responsibility.” In April 2009 the decision of the HAAC to temporarily suspend all interactive programmes on private radio and television stations raised an outcry in Togo and elsewhere. This step, denounced at the time by all professional bodies (UJIT, CONAPP, OTM), was taken on the grounds that there had been numerous instances of distortion and misrepresentation of facts on air concerning the alleged coup d’état plot by Patcha Gnassingbé against his step brother, Faure, the President of the Republic. The HAAC had to reverse its decision a week later. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 112 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TOGO 2010 2.1