Lome, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 20th Apr, 2024) Togo lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to a constitutional reform that moves to a parliamentary system, drawing criticism from opposition parties who say it allows President Faure Gnassingbe to keep his hand. for power supply.
The approval came days before Togo’s April 29 parliamentary election, where the opposition dismissed the reform as a “constitutional coup” for creating a new prime minister-style post that they say will allow the Togolese leader to avoid term limits.
Togo’s parliament already adopted the new constitution on March 25, but Gnassingbe asked lawmakers to vote again after the reform sparked political tensions.
The second reading was passed by 87 present legislators who agreed with the new system.
Opposition parties see the amendment as a way to extend the mandate of Gnassingbe, who has been in power since 2005 after his father, who ruled the small West African nation alone for nearly four decades.
The current constitution would only allow the Togolese leader a final term in office in 2025.
Under the new constitution, Togo adopts a parliamentary system, leaving lawmakers the option of electing the president, which would become a largely ceremonial role with a four-year term.
Under the amendment, power would be transferred to a new post of chairman of the council of ministers, a kind of prime minister, who would also be chosen by the parliament, which is dominated by Gnassingbe’s ruling UNIR party.
The post would have a six-year term, although it is unclear whether the council president can be re-elected for another term.
Opposition parties fear that Gnassingbe will be appointed to the new post by loyalists, allowing him to remain in power indefinitely. He did not comment on the new post.
“Time has shown us that the main interest of his regime is to retain power by any means necessary,” Nathaniel Olympio, head of the opposition Parti des Togolais, told AFP before the vote.
“The position of President of the Council gives someone room to exercise power in an unfettered way, so logically we believe that this is a position that he will hold for himself.”
– The opposition ended the boycott –
The Togolese head of state already changed the constitution in 2019, which allowed him to change the time period and run for two new additional mandates.
Togo’s new parliamentarians will be elected in a vote on April 29 after the government postponed the election several times.
Unlike the last parliamentary elections in 2018, which they boycotted, the opposition parties have decided to attempt a massive mobilization this year.
Opposition parties planned two days of protests against the reform on April 12 and 13, but the authorities banned the demonstrations.
A mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional block has been on an observation mission in the capital Lomé since Monday.
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