Some of Togo’s opposition parties and civil society groups are preparing to launch a nationwide protest a day after lawmakers approved constitutional changes likely to extend the 19-year rule of President Faure Gnassingbe.
In a statement, opposition coalition, the Dynamique Pour la Majorité du Peuple (DMP) and other signatories said the changes, relating to presidential term limits and how presidents are elected, were a political manoeuvre to allow Gnassingbe to extend his tenure for life.
Under the new amendments, the president will no longer be elected by universal suffrage, but by members of parliament.
The amendments also introduce a parliamentary system of government and shortened presidential terms to four years from five, with a two-term limit.
The changes do not take into account time already spent in office, so could enable Gnassingbe to stay in power until 2033 if he is re-elected in 2025, a highly likely scenario as his party controls the parliament in Togo, where Gnassingbe’s father and predecessor Gnassingbe Eyadema seized power via a coup in 1967.
