(3 Minutes Read)
Togo’s opposition had hoped to gain enough seats in parliament in this election to be able to prevent changes like the ones Gnassingbé has pushed through with the latest constitutional vote. But the legislation was passed just last week, with only the president’s signature needed to make it official.
Togo heads to the polls on Monday in a parliamentary election that has been marred in controversy. The West African nation’s current parliament passed constitutional changes last week which would allow the country’s current president Faure Gnassingbé to stay in power indefinitely. Gnassingbé is the latest in a long line of leaders from the same family, one of the longest-ruling families in Africa.
Togo’s opposition had hoped to gain enough seats in parliament in this election to be able to prevent changes like the ones Gnassingbé has pushed through with the latest constitutional vote. But the legislation was passed just last week, with only the president’s signature needed to make it official.
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From the capital, an opposition stronghold, young voters echoed calls for change that dominated the opposition’s rhetoric. In a report published recently, Amnesty International said Togolese authorities have cracked down on freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. Opposition protests have been cancelled in recent weeks, and foreign reporters barred from covering the elections.
