Opposition up in arms against constitutional change in Togo
Lomé, Togo (PANA) - The Togolese opposition is united in its opposition to the constitutional change that took place on Monday night, transforming Togo from a presidential to a parliamentary system, without a referendum or dialogue with the population.
In addition to the change of regime, this constitutional revision propels Togo into the 5th Republic, according to the MPs.
It all came to a head around midnight on Monday night. Three weeks ahead of parliamentary elections, Togo's MPs passed a law changing the 1992 constitution, which had been amended several times, and moving the country from a presidential to a parliamentary system.
The proposed constitutional revision was approved by 89 of the 91 members of parliament. Only one abstained and one voted against.
According to the new text adopted, which has aroused the wrath of the political class close to the opposition, civil society and even religious denominations, it will now be up to Parliament to elect the president of the Republic.
There is no longer any need to go through universal suffrage, by a vote in a presidential election.
According to the new text, Parliament, meeting in congress "without debate", will elect the President of the Council of Ministers, who will be "the leader of the party or the leader of the coalition of parties with a majority following the legislative elections".
The latter retains power in his hands and will have "full authority and power to manage the affairs of government" for a "term of 6 years".
For the opposition, this constitutional revision, carried out on the sly and in the dead of night by deputies, the majority of whom are close to the current government, whose term of office ended on 31 December, last year and who are merely taking care of current affairs while awaiting the legislative elections scheduled for 20 April next, less than a month away, is a veritable "constitutional coup de force".
"What's more," she adds, "the presidential election will take place in 2025, at the end of the term of President Faure Gnassingbé, who has been in power since 2005 and who himself replaced his father, who ruled the country for 38 years.
For Togolese historian Michel Goeh-Akue, the new constitution is "designed to ensure that Faure Gnassingbé has power for life", as "in a monarchical system".
Nathaniel Olympio, president of the Parti des Togolais (PT), said on the social network X on Tuesday: "This new constitution is a forcible passage, a constitutional coup d'état". Denouncing "a very serious coup de force", Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson, Secretary General of the African Peoples' Democratic Convention (CDPA) and Coordinator of the Dynamique pour la majorité des peuples (DMP), said that "the regime is using every possible means to maintain its hold on power and under no circumstances does it want to be forced to go before the people.
On Wednesday 27 March, the opposition, which has decided not to accept this umpteenth constitutional coup d'état, sounded the alarm.
Several press conferences organized here and there in the capital were interrupted by the forces of order, arguing that the parties had not received authorization to hold them.
The Alliance nationale pour le changement (ANC), one of the country's leading political parties, led by Jean-Pierre Fabre, has also denounced this constitutional coup de force and says it will not accept this latest blunder.
Already, 19 political parties and 16 civil society organizations, grouped together in the Front "Ne touche pas à ma constitution" (Don't touch my constitution), are opting to resist this constitutional change.
However, those in the government camp believe that "the revision adopted offers the possibility of defining a new republican identity enabling the Togolese nation to be effectively represented", according to Chantal Yawa Dzigbodi Tsègan, President of the National Assembly, following Monday's vote in parliament.
According to Pacôme Adjourouvi, Minister for Human Rights and Relations with the Institutions of the Republic, "more than three decades after the adoption of the 1992 Constitution, its provisions were no longer in tune with current realities.
This revision introduces a new, more representative system. Full power to the people through their representatives.
So, with two weeks to go before the double ballot: the legislative and regional elections scheduled for 20 April, the battle is on.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, the Togolese Bishops' Conference (CET) questioned the appropriateness of this reform just a few days before the legislative elections.
In its view, "shouldn't such an important issue, which will profoundly change the political life of our country, be preceded by broad consultation and a more inclusive national debate?"
She called on the President of the Republic not to promulgate this new constitution and to engage in "inclusive dialogue" with the political class and social organizations after the results of the legislative and regional elections scheduled for 20 April.
-0- PANA FAA/JSG/BBA/RA 28March2024
