17/7/2025–|Last update: 17:36 (Mecca time)
In an atmosphere charged with tension and anger, voters in Togo go to the polls to choose their representatives in municipal councils, in the first local elections to be held after a controversial constitutional amendment that sparked widespread protests, during which at least seven people were killed.
These elections come at a time when demands for President Four Ghannasingbe, who has ruled the country since 2005, escalated his father, who took power with a military coup in 1967, which makes the family rule extend for more than half a century.
Constitutional amendment raises youth protests
In April 2024, parliament – which was dominated by the ruling Union for the Republic – approved constitutional amendments that canceled the presidential system in favor of Parliamentary systemAnd the position of “Prime Minister”, which has wide executive powers without clear restrictions.
Last May, Ghannasingbi was sworn in to take over this new position, while Jean-Lucian Safi de died, 86, was appointed president of the republic with symbolic powers, in a move described by the opposition as a “constitutional coup.”
Last June, the protests erupted after the arrest of rapper and activist on the Tik Talk platform, after calling for demonstrations, and calls were soon turned into angry demonstrations in the capital, Lome, who were excessive violently of the security forces, according to local human rights organizations.
“The Togo Citizen Front stands,” a coalition that includes 12 human rights organizations, that the security forces carried out arbitrary arrests, assaulted civilians, beating, and looting their property, while the bodies of seven people were found in lakes and swamps surrounding the capital after days of protests.
Elections under restrictions
The municipal elections are held in light of the closure of the land borders, a heavy security spread, and coincided with new calls for demonstrations launched by the M66 movement, which includes activists and opposition bloggers, and accuses the authorities of “inciting terrorism.”
These elections are the first of its kind since the constitutional amendments entered into force, and representatives of 117 municipalities are expected to be excreted, amid a division of the opposition between those who call for the boycott and those who see participation an opportunity to prove the political presence.