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Parliamentary elections are due to be held in Togo on 29 April 2024 in order to elect the 113 members of the National Assembly,[1][2] alongside the first regional elections in the country.[3]
Background edit
Togo's political life is dominated by the ruling Union for the Republic (UNIR), whose leader Faure Gnassingbé has been in power since the death of his father Gnassingbé Eyadéma in 2005. Faure Gnassingbé was initially interim president before being elected to the presidency later the same year, then re-elected in 2010 and 2015. This "dynastic democracy" is maintained from election to election through the repression of the opposition, election fraud and the modification of the constitution.[4][5]
The previous parliamentary elections in 2018 were boycotted by the C14 Alliance, the main opposition group of fourteen parties, following irregularities in the preparation of the vote and the refusal of Gnassingbé to abandon his constitutional revision project.[6][7] Gnassingbé had aimed to reinstate the limit on the number of presidential terms while "resetting it to zero", allowing him to remain in power beyond his third term, which ended in 2020.[8] The 2018 parliamentary election campaign was marked by repression against demonstrators, and several deaths, including at least three by gunfire, were reported, leading the government to ban all marches or public gatherings in mid-December.[9] In the absence of any real opponents, UNIR retained its absolute majority, winning 59 of the 91 seats. The parliament also saw a sharp increase in the number of independent deputies, with 18 winning seats. The Union of Forces for Change (UFC) and four other groups shared the remaining seats.[10][11]
Despite the absolute majority obtained, the election result was initially considered a failure for UNIR as it failed to win the four-fifths majority of seats necessary for a constitutional amendment to be passed by parliamentary means alone. However, on 8 May 2019 the government passed a constitutional amendment almost unanimously, which allowed Gnassingbé to remain in office until 2030.[12] Gnassingbé was unsurprisingly re-elected in the first round of the 2020 presidential elections with more than 70% of the vote, a result contested by the opposition which accused the government of electoral fraud.[13] On 25 March the Constitutional Court validated 2,350 applications for 113 seats.[14]
Date edit
The election was initially supposed to be held on 13 April 2024 before being postponed by President Gnassingbé to 20 April, with campaigning to run from 4 to 18 April.[15][16] On 3 April, Gnassingbé again ordered the indefinite postponement of the election to allow "consultations" over a controversial attempt at constitutional reform that would replace the presidential system with a parliamentary one, place executive powers in the office of the prime minister, and replace the direct election of the presidency with a vote by parliament.[17][18] In response, four opposition parties and a civil society group called for protests to be held from 11 to 13 April and described the postponement as a maneuver by the regime to "endorse its own constitutional coup".[19] On 9 April, the government announced that the election would be held on 29 April.[1] It also banned a planned protest by opposition groups against the postponement and the constitutional amendments scheduled on 11 to 13 April.[20] On 23 April, the Catholic Church's request to deploy observers during the vote was rejected by the Electoral Commission.[21]
Electoral system edit
The 91 members of the National Assembly are elected by closed list proportional representation from 30 multi-member constituencies ranging in size from two to ten seats. Seats are allocated using the highest averages method.[22] Nearly 4.2 million Togolese are registered to vote.[23] Of the 2,348 candidates for the legislative elections, 593 of them are women, while 438 women are also running in regional elections.[24]
Campaigning began on 13 April and will last for two weeks.[25] Foreign journalists were barred by Togolese authorities from covering the election, while the Catholic Church was also prohibited from acting as observers.[26]
Results edit
| Party | |
|---|---|
| Union for the Republic | |
| National Alliance for Change | |
| New Togolese Commitment | |
| Patriotic Movement for Democracy and Development | |
| Pan-African Democratic Party | |
| Movement of Centrist Republicans | |
| Pan-African Patriotic Convergence | |
| Union of Nationalists for Work | |
| Africa Togo Ecology | |
| Party for Democracy and Renewal | |
| Emerging Leaders' Circle | |
| Other parties | |
| Independents | |
| Total | |
References edit
- ^ a b "Togo schedules delayed legislative elections for April 29". France 24. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ "Togo delays legislative and regional polls until Apr. 29". Africanews. 2024-04-10. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
- ^ "Les élections régionales au Togo : Que comprendre et retenir ?". Afreepress (in French). 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ "Togo: La démocratie dynastique". lejdd.fr (in French). 2010-04-10. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ "Le Togo, symbole de cette Afrique de l'Ouest où on prend les mêmes et on recommence". France Inter (in French). 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ "Législatives tendues au Togo". Les Echos (in French). 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ "Togo : Plus de 500 000 Togolais dans les rues à Lomé ce samedi". Togo Actualite - Premier site d'information du Togo (in French). 2018-12-01. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ "Togo : la très controversée réforme constitutionnelle sera votée par référendum". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ "Législatives au Togo: les militaires votent par anticipation". RFI (in French). 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ "Togo-Législatives 2018 : voici les résultats provisoires complets". L-FRII (in French). 2018-12-22. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ "Résultats définitifs des élections législatives au Togo", DW (in French), retrieved 2024-02-09
- ^ "Au Togo, le président Faure Gnassingbé pourra se représenter aux élections de 2020 et 2025". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2019-05-09. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ "Benin Web TV - Actualités et Infos du Bénin, d'Afrique et à l'International". Bénin Web TV (in French). 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ "Afrique Élections législatives au Togo: la Cour constitutionnelle valide 2 350 candidats pour 113 sièges". rfi.fr (in French). 2024-03-25. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ "Togolese President Delays Legislative Vote by a Week". Voice of America. 2024-02-24. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
- ^ "Les élections législatives et régionales reportées au 20 avril prochain". lomebougeinfo (in French). 2024-02-26. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
- ^ "Togo's 20 April parliamentary elections postponed indefinitely amid constitutional controversy". The North Africa Post. 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ "Togo postpones elections after new constitution row". BBC. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "Togo opposition calls for mass protest over legislative elections delay". France 24. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Togo bans protests over a canceled presidential election as tensions rise". Associated Press. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ "Élections au Togo: la demande d'observateurs de l'Église catholique refusée". www.rfi.fr (in French). 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ "Electoral system". Inter-Parliamentary Union.
- ^ "Togo: Govt delays Apr. 20 polls, consultations launched in wake of controversial reform". Africanews. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ "Togo: Women candidates campaign ahead legislative and regional elections". Africanews. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ "Togo: Campaigns begin for upcoming legislative and regional elections". Africanews. 13 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
- ^ "Togo heads to 'controversial' legislative polls on Monday". Africanews. 26 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.