Togo’s Gnassingbe follows his father’s political playbook to extend power
When Togo’s lawmakers passed a new Constitution last month, opposition leaders quickly rejected the reform as another ploy by President Faure Gnassingbe to extend his family’s more than ve-decade grip on power.
The amended Constitution created a new role of President of the Council of ministers, a position critics say is tailor-made for Mr. Gnassingbe to avoid presidential term limits and stay in o¤ce.
Electoral victory
After several delays, Togolese went to the polls on April 29, with Mr. Gnassingbe’s ruling Union for the Republic party (UNIR) winning 108 of 113 seats, according to provisional results from the poll body.
Mr. Gnassingbe was put in power by the military in 2005 when his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who had stamped his total authority over the country after seizing power through a coup in 1967, suddenly died after ruling for nearly four decades.
The manoeuvre was condemned as a coup and led to a wave of domestic and international anger.
From having his halfbrother and former Defence Minister arrested over an alleged coup plot to harsh steps like using live bullets and Internt blackouts to crack down on opposition outbursts, Mr. Gnassingbe has displayed streaks of his father’s ruthlessness during his time at the helm of the small West African nation.
Under the previous Constitution, the leader known to foes as “Baby Gnass” — a reference to the younger man following his father — could remain in o¤ce as President only until 2030.
Ceremonial President
The new Constitution makes the presidency a largely ceremonial role, elected by lawmakers for a fouryear term. Power now shifts to the President of the Council of Ministers, a post that will be automatically assumed by the head of the majority party in parliament.
His foes expect that Mr. Gnassingbe, as chief of the UNIR, will take up the newly created post while UNIR loyalists say the reform will strengthen democracy with more representation.