Those opposing the changes fear they could allow further extensions of President Faure Gnassingbe’s government.
Lawmakers in Togo approved changes to the constitution related to presidential term limits and how presidents are elected, which some opposition politicians and civil society groups denounced as a constitutional coup.
Togo’s parliament had already adopted the changes on March 25, but the reforms led to a negative reaction from the opposition, and President Faure Gnassingbe called for further consultations and a second parliamentary vote.
Lawmakers gave final approval to the reform on Friday night, just days before the April 29 legislative elections, which were also postponed due to issues related to constitutional changes.
The second reading was approved with all 87 politicians present agreeing to the new system, according to which the president will no longer be elected by universal suffrage, but by members of parliament.
The changes also introduced a parliamentary system of government and reduced presidential terms from five to four years, with a two-term limit.
It does not take into account time already spent in office, which could allow Gnassingbe to remain in power until 2033 if he is re-elected in 2025, a highly likely scenario given that his party controls parliament.
Opponents of the changes fear they could allow further extensions of the president’s 19-year rule and his family’s grip on power. His father and predecessor, Gnassingbe Eyadema, seized power in the West African coastal country in a coup in 1967.
In a statement on Saturday, the opposition coalition Dynamique Pour la Majorité du Peuple (DMP) and other signatories said the constitutional changes were a political maneuver to allow Gnassingbe to extend his lifetime term.
“What happened yesterday in the National Assembly was a coup d’état,” they said.
“Large-scale actions will be organized in the coming days to say ‘no’ to this Constitution.”
‘To preserve power by any means’
“Togo has just turned a new page on its path towards a more inclusive and participatory democracy. This is a satisfaction and a source of pride for us,” Koumealo Anate, a lawmaker from Gnassingbe’s ruling UNIR party, told reporters after Friday’s vote.
However, a group of 17 civil society organizations said the changes amount to a “project to… confiscate the power of a regime that systematically opposes any form of democratic change”, in a joint statement issued this week. They also called on West Africa’s main political and economic bloc, ECOWAS, to take action in response.
“Time has shown us that his regime’s main concern is to preserve power by any means,” Nathaniel Olympio, president of the opposition party Parti des Togolais, told AFP news agency before the vote.
“The role of chairman of the board gives someone the freedom to exercise power in an unlimited way, so logically we believe this is the role he will occupy for himself.”
Several other African countries, including the Central African Republic, Rwanda, the Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast and Guinea, have enacted constitutional and other legal changes in recent years, allowing presidents to extend their terms in office.
The West and Central African region has also witnessed eight military coups in the last three years.
Violent police repression of political demonstrations has been routine under Gnassingbe, as it was during his father’s long rule.
Faure Gnassingbe was last re-elected in a 2020 landslide victory fought by the opposition.
The new constitution also creates a new role, that of president of the council of ministers, with broad authority to manage government affairs.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
