Togo holds key parliament ballot after divisive reform

Togo holds key parliament ballot after divisive reform

Togolese voters headed to the polls on Monday to vote in the country’s parliamentary elections, which will test support for a proposed new constitution that would scrap future presidential elections and give lawmakers the power to choose the president instead.

The opposition and the clergy say the legislation is an effort by President Faure Gnassingbe to prolong his rule. It was passed by lawmakers in late March and is close to being enacted.

Authorities have cracked down on civic and media freedoms ahead of the vote. In early April, the government banned protests against the proposed new constitution and the arrest of opposition figures.

The ballot comes after lawmakers this month approved the reform creating a new prime minister-style post opponents believe is tailored for Gnassingbe to avoid presidential term limits and stay in office.

In power for nearly 20 years, Gnassingbe succeeded his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled for almost four decades himself following a coup in the small coastal West African state wedged between Benin and Ghana.

Monday’s vote will elect 113 lawmakers and 179 regional deputies from the country’s five districts who, along with municipal councilors, will elect a newly created senate.