Lawmakers in Togo have approved changes to the constitution linked to presidential term limits and how presidents are elected, which some opposition politicians and civil society groups have denounced as a constitutional coup.
Togo’s parliament had already adopted the amendments on March 25, but the reforms led to an opposition backlash so President Faure Gnassingbe called for further consultations and a second parliamentary vote.
The lawmakers gave final approval to the reform late on Friday, just days before the April 29 legislative elections that had also been pushed back due to the issues around the constitutional amendments.
The second reading was passed with all 87 politicians present agreeing to the new system, under which the president will no longer be elected by universal suffrage, but by members of parliament.
The amendments also introduced a parliamentary system of government and shortened presidential terms to four years from five with a two-term limit.
His father and predecessor Gnassingbe Eyadema seized power in the coastal West African country via a coup in 1967.
Violent police crackdowns on political demonstrations have been routine under Gnassingbe, as they were during his father’s long rule.
The new constitution also creates a new role, president of the council of ministers, with extensive authority to manage government affairs.
Some opposition politicians and civil society organizations have criticized the Togolese lawmakers for passing constitutional amendments that alter the country’s term limits and presidential election procedures, calling them a constitutional coup.
The changes were first approved by the Togolese parliament on March 25, but President Faure Gnassingbe demanded more talks and a second parliamentary vote because of the opposition’s backlash against the reforms.
Days before the April 29 legislative elections, which had also been postponed because of the constitutional amendments, the lawmakers finally approved the reform late on Friday.
All 87 legislators in attendance supported the new system, which calls for members of parliament to elect the president instead of the people through universal suffrage, when the second reading was approved.
Along with shortening presidential terms from five to four years with a two-term limit, the amendments also instituted a parliamentary form of government.
It does not account for Gnassingbe’s tenure in office, which could allow him to hold onto power until 2033 if he is re-elected in 2025—a very likely possibility given his party’s majority in parliament.
Opponents of the changes worry that they might permit the president’s 19-year rule and the power of his family to be extended further. In a coup in 1967, his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, took over the country’s coastal region of West Africa.
Gnassingbe’s political maneuver to extend his tenure for life was revealed in a statement released on Saturday by the opposition coalition Dynamique Pour la Majorité du Peuple (DMP) and other signatories.
There was a coup d’etat, they declared, at the National Assembly yesterday.
Over the next few days, there will be organized large-scale protests to reject this constitution. “.
“To maintain power through any means.”.
“Togo has recently started a new chapter in its transition to a democracy that is more inclusive and participatory. Koumealo Anate, a lawmaker from Gnassingbe’s ruling UNIR party, told reporters following Friday’s vote, “This is a satisfaction and a source of pride for us.”.
However, in a joint statement released this week, a group of 17 civil society organizations claimed the amendments amounted to a “project to… confiscate power by a regime that is systematically opposed to any form of democratic change”. They also urged the main political and economic organization in West Africa, ECOWAS, to respond accordingly.
Before the vote, Nathaniel Olympio, the president of the opposition party Parti des Togolais, told the AFP news agency, “Time has shown us that the major concern of his regime is to preserve power by any means.”.
“We think that he will logically retain this position for himself since the presidency of the council confers the ability to use power in an unrestricted way. “.
In recent years, a number of other African nations, such as the Central African Republic, Rwanda, the Republic of the Congo, the Ivory Coast, and Guinea, have pushed through constitutional and other legislative changes that permit presidents to serve longer terms in office.
Eight military takeovers have also occurred in the past three years in the West and Central African region.
Like under his father’s lengthy rule, Gnassingbe has routinely used violent police crackdowns on political demonstrations.
Last year, in a landslide that the opposition contested, Faure Gnassingbe was re-elected.
A new position with significant management authority over government matters is the president of the council of ministers, which is established by the new constitution.
