by Nurat Uthman
A leading Togo opposition party has said it will refuse to take part in the country’s first elections for the senate, with the vote a key step towards implementing a contested new constitution.
Slated for February 2, the upper house polls are part of an overhaul abolishing the election of the head of state by universal suffrage and introducing a parliamentary system.
Opposition politicians and civil society leaders have slammed the new constitution as a ploy by President Faure Gnassingbe to hold on to power indefinitely.
“ The National Alliance for Change (ANC) expresses its firm and deliberate rejection of the senatorial elections announced by the government,” the opposition party said in a statement on Saturday.
The last legislative and regional elections were marred by massive fraud and serious irregularities. In the absence of guarantees of transparency, independence and fairness, it is clear that the senatorial elections announced can only be a new masquerade,” the ANC added.
The ANC’s rejection comes hot on the heels of that of fellow Togolese opposition umbrella movement Dynamique pour la majorite du peuple (DMP).
“The DMP considers that these senatorial elections are part of an ongoing constitutional coup d’etat,” it said on Thursday.
Gnassingbe has ruled over the small West African country of 8.8 million people since 2005, when he took over from his father who was in power for 38 years.
Opposition attempts to protest against the reform have largely been blocked by authorities, as political rallies have been banned in Togo since 2022.
