Togo Announces Delay of Elections

April 10, 2024 Hour: 4:44 pm

Togo has rescheduled parliamentary and regional elections for April 29 after delaying the ballot over a highly contested constitutional reform.

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The Government of Togo has set on Tuesday, through the Council of Ministers, the new date for the legislative and regional elections, which will take place on Monday, April 29, after the elections have been delayed on at least two occasions.

In early April, President Faure Gnassingbé met members of the bureau of the National Assembly and urged them to “to take into account all contributions susceptible to enrich” the Constitution.

The National Assembly’s bureau therefore expressed the need for more consultations over the reform which led to a new postponement.

Togo’s opposition on Thursday called for a three-day mass protest to demonstrate against the government’s decision to delay this month’s legislative elections.https://t.co/vjAnslgE3w

— AFP News Agency (@AFP)
April 4, 2024

“Our country is preparing to organize the first regional elections in its history, to complete the decentralization architecture with regional councils that will have capacities aimed at promoting the development of the territories and contributing to the improvement of the living conditions of the populations,” said a statement from the Presidency of Togo.

Likewise, the statement continued, “the adopted decree will allow the newly elected regional councilors to settle, establishing the procedures for calling their first meeting and the mandate, as well as the general framework of the internal regulations of the regional council.”

Elections were initially scheduled on April 13 before being postponed to April 20.

Togo’s parliament voted in late March to transition the nation from a presidential to a parliamentary system.

The proposed Constitution, which was passed on March 25, grants parliament the power to choose the president, doing away with direct elections.