Gnassingbé family has ruled Togo since 1967, meaning it is Africa’s longest lasting dynasty. ==Executive branch== |President |Faure Gnassingbé |Union for the Republic |4 May 2005 |- |Prime Minister |Victoire Tomegah Dogbé |Union for the Republic |28 September 2020 |} The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term.
After independence, the party system was dominated first by the authoritarian Rally for the Togolese People, and later by its successor party, Union for the Republic. ==Fight for democracy== In the early 1990s, the international community began putting pressure on authoritarian president Gnassingbé Eyadéma to democratize, a notion he strongly resisted.
Using intimidation tactics and clever political machinations that disqualified one opposition party and caused another to refuse to participate, Eyadéma won the 1993 presidential elections with more than 96% of the vote.
In the years following, opposition parties have lost most of their steam and Eyadéma's control has become almost as firm as before the crisis began. In August 1996, Prime Minister Edem Kodjo resigned, and the planning minister, Kwassi Klutse, was appointed prime minister.
Eyadéma won another five-year term in June 1998 with 52% of the vote, nearly being defeated by Gilchrist Olympio, son of Sylvanus Olympio.
Later investigations revealed widespread human rights abuses. In 2002, in what critics called a 'constitutional coup', the national assembly voted unanimously to change the constitution and allow Eyadéma to 'sacrifice himself again' and run for a third term during the 2003 presidential elections.
Later investigations revealed widespread human rights abuses. In 2002, in what critics called a 'constitutional coup', the national assembly voted unanimously to change the constitution and allow Eyadéma to 'sacrifice himself again' and run for a third term during the 2003 presidential elections.
Meanwhile, Gilchrist Olympio's attempts to beat the man who overthrew his father were scuppered yet again when he was banned from running on a tax-law technicality. Despite allegations of electoral fraud, Eyadéma won 57% of the votes in the 2003 elections, which international observers from the African Union described as generally free and transparent.
For many Togolese, there was little optimism for the future and a prevailing sense of déjà vu as Eyadéma extended his record as Africa's longest-serving ruler. ==Current political situation== On February 5, 2005, Eyadéma died of a heart attack.
In response, Gnassingbé agreed to hold elections in April 2005.
On May 3, 2005, Gnassingbé was sworn in as the new president garnering 60% of the vote according to official results.
Later in June, President Gnassingbe named opposition leader Edem Kodjo as the prime Minister. From April 2006 onwards, reconciliation talks between the government and the opposition were held, which were suspended after Eyadema's death in 2005.
Gnassingbé family has ruled Togo since 1967, meaning it is Africa’s longest lasting dynasty. ==Executive branch== |President |Faure Gnassingbé |Union for the Republic |4 May 2005 |- |Prime Minister |Victoire Tomegah Dogbé |Union for the Republic |28 September 2020 |} The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term.
Later in June, President Gnassingbe named opposition leader Edem Kodjo as the prime Minister. From April 2006 onwards, reconciliation talks between the government and the opposition were held, which were suspended after Eyadema's death in 2005.
However, on February 6, Parliament retroactively changed the Constitution, declaring that Faure would hold office for the rest of his father's term, with elections deferred until 2008. The African Union described the takeover as a military coup d'état.
In August the government and the opposition signed an accord providing for the participation of opposition parties in a transitional government. In 2017, protests erupted against Faure Gnassingbé's continued rule.
As the only African country without official presidential term limits, the opposition demands two-term limits for presidents to be applied retroactively in order to prevent Gnassingbe from standing in the 2020 and 2025 elections.
However, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo and Alpha Conde of Guinea are involved as mediators to facilitate the organization of a political dialogue to be held "in a few weeks". In February 2020, Faure Gnassingbé was again re-elected for his fourth presidential term.
Gnassingbé family has ruled Togo since 1967, meaning it is Africa’s longest lasting dynasty. ==Executive branch== |President |Faure Gnassingbé |Union for the Republic |4 May 2005 |- |Prime Minister |Victoire Tomegah Dogbé |Union for the Republic |28 September 2020 |} The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term.
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