In order to prevent the president of Togo, a West African nation, from approving a new constitution that would do away with future presidential elections and possibly prolong his decades-long rule until 2031, activists and opposition leaders in the nation called for rallies on Wednesday.
The country’s parliamentarians approved a new constitution earlier this week that does away with direct elections and gives parliament the authority to select the president. President Faure Gnassingbe must now approve it. Given this, it seems likely that Gnassingbe will be reelected in 2025, when his term ends.
According to some legal experts, the constitution essentially limits the power of future presidents by imposing a one-term limit and giving more authority to a position akin to that of a prime minister. Nonetheless, opposition worries the role — officially, the president of the council of ministers — could become another avenue for Gnassingbe to extend his grip on power.
Moreover, the lengthens presidential terms from five to six years under the new constitution. The total does not include the nearly 20 years that Gnassingbe has held office following his father’s retirement.
The church and the opposition claim that Gnassingbe is trying to extend his authority through the legislation. Some have pledged to mobilize the populace in opposition and prevent it from becoming law.
Spokesman for the opposition National Alliance for Change party Eric Dupuy stated, “We know that the struggle will be long and arduous, but together with the Togolese people, we will do everything we can to prevent this constitutional coup d’état.”
“We’re urging the people to reject this and to fiercely fight it,” he continued.
However, police on Wednesday broke up a news conference called by the opposition, throwing leaders and journalists out of the venue.
Togo’s Catholic bishops have urged the country’s parliament to delay signing off on a new constitution, arguing that the lawmakers have no right to revise it.
The bishops urged Faure Gnassingbe to engage in an inclusive political dialogue after the next month’s balloting. Zeus Ajavon, a lecturer in Constitutional Law at the University of Lome, stated that the Assembly has no power to revise a constitution and that a referendum is necessary for the country to adopt a new one.
Togo has been ruled by the same family for 57 years, initially by Eyadema Gnassingbe and subsequently by his son.
(AP)
