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Togo’s legislative elections delivered a sweeping majority for the ruling party, the country’s electoral commission announced late on Saturday. The results pave the way for President Faure Gnassingbé, already in power for nearly 20 years, to extend his rule under a controversial reform to the constitution that his opponents denounce as an “institutional coup”.
The Union for the Republic(UNIR), the ruling party won 108 out of 113 seats in the new National Assembly, while four opposition parties took the other five seats. There were approximately 4.2 million registered voters, while the participation rate in the election was about 61 percent, according to the electoral commission president Dago Yabre.
Togo kicked off legislative elections on 29th April, with over 2,300 candidates vying for 113 seats in the National Assembly and its first-ever regional elections. On April 19, Togo’s National Assembly passed the second reading of a new constitution, switching the country from a presidential to a parliamentary system.
Under the new constitution, Gnassingbe will now be able to take a new post as president of the council of ministers, a kind of prime minister role automatically assumed by the leader of the majority party in parliament. After this divisive constitutional reform critics say allows President Faure Gnassingbe to stay in power. Under the new constitution, the president of Togo will henceforth be elected by the parliament in a largely ceremonial role for a four-year term, renewable once.
Additionally, the new constitution introduced the position of president of the council of ministers, which will be assumed by the leader of the political party or coalition winning the majority of seats in legislative elections, with a mandate of six years and considerable power in the management of government affairs.
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According to the new constitution, Togo’s president now becomes a mostly ceremonial role elected by parliament, and not the people, for a four-year term. Togo’s shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system means power now resides with the new president of the council of ministers, who will be the leader of the majority party in the new assembly.
