Despite tensions and weeks of protests, local elections were held in Togo. The protests erupted in June following a controversial constitutional amendment that will allow President Faure Gnassingbé to retain power in the country indefinitely.
In recent years, there have been repeated protests against Gnassingbé, which—like the current demonstrations—have been brutally suppressed by police and military forces. According to local human rights groups, at least seven people lost their lives during the most recent protests. Their bodies were found days later in various lagoons and lakes around Lomé.
The Togolese government stated only that the deaths were caused by drowning and warned residents living near bodies of water to be particularly cautious during the current rainy season. The movement "Don't Touch My Constitution" called for an international investigation; Togo’s Catholic bishops criticized the scale of violence as “unacceptable and unjustified.” The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Togo (EEPT), the Bremen Mission (NM), and the World Communion of Reformed Churches also spoke out.
A total of 494 candidate lists stood for election in 117 municipalities. 1,527 municipal councilors were to be elected, who would then choose local mayors. Several of the main opposition parties, including the National Alliance for Change (ANC), participated in the local elections after having boycotted the Senate elections in February in protest against the new constitution. On Thursday, polling stations in Togo’s capital Lomé were largely deserted. Social media influencers living abroad and civil society groups had called for a boycott of the elections, the first national vote since the constitutional reform. However, according to the national electoral commission CENI, voter turnout was 55.02%. The percentage of valid votes was not specified.
The preliminary election results showed a share of 75.3% (1,150 seats) for President Gnassingbé’s ruling party, Union for the Republic (UNIR). The opposition parties National Alliance for Change (ANC) received 3.3% (51 seats), Union of Forces for Change (UFC) 2.5% (38 seats), Alliance of Democrats for Integral Development (ADDI) 2.2% (33 seats), and the Togolese Alternative Bloc for Republican Innovation (BATIR) also 2.2% (33 seats). The remaining 14.5% (221 seats) went to other parties and independent candidates.
Due to its port in the capital Lomé, Togo is gaining importance as a maritime and transit hub in the region. The country serves as a vital gateway to the landlocked Sahel states of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, with which it seeks close cooperation. How this will align with the West African economic community ECOWAS remains unclear. The three Sahel countries have withdrawn from ECOWAS after the organization strongly condemned the military coups in those nations.
