Reelection of Togolese President Disputed

Togolese President Faure Gassingbé meets with former South African President Jacob Zuma during the World Economic Forum on Africa. (Flickr)

Togo’s electoral commission announced that the incumbent, Togolese President Faure Gassingbé, won the presidential election on February 22. Opposition leaders have accused election authorities of fraud in helping Gassingbé extend his rule, which began in 2005 after the death of his father, who was president for 38 years. Domestic and international organizations have conflicting opinions about the validity of the election results. 

Togo held first-round presidential elections between Gassingbé and six opponents. The most prominent and outspoken opponent since the elections has been Agbéyomé Kodjo, former prime minister and head of the National Assembly. Kodjo has been one of the leading voices accusing authorities of setting up fake polling stations, stuffing ballot boxes, and having people vote multiple times for Gassingbé. The electoral commission announced that Gassingbé won 72 percent of the vote and Kodjo 18 percent. 

Soon after the election, Kodjo proclaimed, “Voters have largely voted for me. With regards to the results we’ve compiled by way of the tallies in our possession, we have won this presidential election...with a result oscillating between 57 and 61 percent. At this very minute, I’m president of the republic democratically elected.”

In addition to conflicting election results, government troops surrounded Kodjo’s house. Togolese Security Minister Yark Dameham said that the troops went to his home because Kodjo was “at risk of an attack on his house by unruly individuals.” However, Kodjo claimed that he was given no explanation for the troops’ actions and believed they were sent to buy time to rig the election. 

While the final election results will be announced by the Togolese Supreme Court in the coming days, several international organizations have approved the results and praised Togo for its free and fair elections. Both the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) election observation mission had officials monitoring Togo’s election process and approved of it as peaceful and lawful. The AU mission congratulated “the people, the government, the political actors, and all the stakeholders for holding good polls.”

This election follows several violent protests against Gassingbé in recent years. In May 2019, Togo’s parliament passed a constitutional amendment capping the president to serving two five-year terms. Notably, this change does not apply retrospectively, so the amendment allowed Gassingbé, who had already served three terms at the time, to run for two more terms, meaning that his presidency could last until 2030. This amendment passed despite widespread protests against it in 2017 and 2018, calling for Gassingbé’s resignation and an end to his family’s rule over Togo. 

Gassingbé’s father held power as president from the 1967 coup he led until his death in 2005. The constitutional change was accompanied by another change that granted legal immunity to any president and former Togolese president. The coordinator of the opposition coalition, Brigitte Adjamagbo-Johnson, said of the constitutional changes, “He [Gassingbé] has showed the Togolese people that the only thing that worries him is to stay in power.”

As the Togolese people await the final election results, Kodjo and other opposition leaders have called for demonstrations against the alleged fraud.