After Togo’s lawmakers passed a new constitution this month, opposition leaders quickly branded the reforms as another ploy by President Faure Gnassingbé to extend his more than 50-year grip on power. Rejected.
The revised constitution creates a new role, chair of the Council of Ministers, a position that critics say was specifically created to allow Gnassingbé to circumvent presidential term limits and remain in office. are doing.
After several delays, Togolese will go to the polls on Monday to elect new members, but the opposition claims the new members will almost certainly maintain the Gnassingbé political dynasty under the new Magna Carta.
Gnassingbé was seized by the military in 2005 after his father, Gnassingbé Eyadema, who had ruled for nearly 40 years, suddenly passed away.
He was seen as a flexible 38-year-old but quickly settled at the helm of the small West African nation sandwiched between Benin and Ghana.
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He has since been re-elected four times.
The quiet 57-year-old business graduate, who studied in France and the United States, has previously pushed through constitutional amendments that enabled him to make a comeback.
Under the previous constitution, the leader, known to his opponents as “Baby Gunas” (a term referring to young men who follow in the footsteps of their fathers), could only remain in office until 2030.
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Under the new constitution, the office of president will be a largely ceremonial role, elected by members of parliament for a four-year term.
Power now passes to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, a position that is automatically held by the leader of the parliamentary majority party.
His opponents expect Gnassingbé to take up the newly created post as leader of the ruling Union Republican Party (UNIR).
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UNIR supporters say the reforms will increase representation and strengthen democracy.
Gnassingbé told AFP in 2020 that he “doesn’t feel like a dictator” and dismissed the criticism as “exaggerated”.
Gnassingbe was just a few months old when his father seized power in a military coup in 1967.
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The colonel-turned-president established complete authority over the country through repression and a cult of personality, allowing him to remain in power for 38 years.
After Mr. Eyadema’s sudden death in 2005, his military allies moved with lightning speed to install Mr. Fauré (one of the dozens of children he is said to have fathered) as president.
The operation was denounced as a coup and sparked a wave of anger at home and abroad.
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Gnassingbé resigned, but was quickly reelected in a vote with support from the ruling party.
That election was hotly contested and led to violent protests in which up to 800 people are thought to have been killed.
After his first victory, Gnassingbé sought to improve Togo’s tarnished image abroad and distance himself from his father’s iron-fisted ways.
He has facilitated relations with foreign donors in an effort to portray Togo as a reliable partner in a volatile region.
But Gnassingbé also showed a streak of ruthlessness.
In 2009, he had his half-brother, former defense minister Kpatcha Gnassingbé, arrested on suspicion of plotting a coup.
The president’s brother was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
With similar steely determination, he weathered major opposition explosions in 2017 and 2018, with large crowds taking to the streets almost weekly to protest against his rule.
Authorities used live ammunition, tear gas and internet blackouts to crack down on demonstrators who called for the period limits to be imposed retroactively.
The gathering eventually died out due to harsh treatment and fighting between opponents.
Togo’s parliament agreed to amend the constitution in May 2019, paving the way for Gnassingbé to remain president for another 10 years.
In recent years, he has pushed ahead with a flagship program to bring electricity to rural areas.
He has also made it a key priority to protect the country from the jihadist threat spreading from the Sahel and across its northern border.
According to the World Bank, poverty levels in Togo fell from 61% in 2006 to 42% in 2023.
However, Gnassingbé was also more vocal about foreign affairs than domestic issues.
He has sought to establish himself as a regional mediator in several conflicts in West Africa.
Togo’s leaders have not publicly commented on the divisive constitutional changes.
But in a rare speech at his party’s convention in February, he called on his supporters for “peaceful” and “non-violent” elections to “further contribute to the consolidation of democracy in our country.”
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