Lome: Togo’s ruling party won a parliamentary majority in legislative elections on April 29, the country’s electoral commission said on Saturday, allowing critics of divisive constitutional reforms to allow President Faure Gnassingbe to remain in power.
The Gnassingbe Republican Party (UNIR) won 108 out of 113 seats in the new parliament, according to provisional results announced by the National Electoral Commission.
Under the new constitution approved by lawmakers in April, Gnassingbe can now take on a new role as head of the council of ministers, a form of prime ministership in which the leader of the majority party is automatically elected in parliament.
Having been in power for almost 20 years, Gnassingbe succeeded his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled the West African nation on the west coast between Benin and Ghana for four decades.
Opposition parties called the reforms an “institutional coup” that would give Gnassingbe the chance to avoid the presidency and extend his family’s political dynasty. UNIR loyalists say the reforms make Togo’s democracy more representative.
Despite being declared a defector by the opposition, Gnassingbe, 57, has won four elections. The main opposition boycotted the last parliamentary elections in 2018, citing unrest.
Under the new constitution, Togo’s president is now a ceremonial role elected by parliament rather than by the people for four years.
Togo’s transition from a presidential system to a parliamentary system means that power rests with the new president of the Council of Ministers, who will be the leader of the majority party in the new parliament.
Togo ruling party wins majority after parliament ballot: electoral agency
