Togo Lawmakers Approve New Constitution

Togolese lawmakers adopted a new constitution on Monday, moving the country from a presidential to a parliamentary system and giving parliament the power to elect the president of the small West African country.

The president will be chosen “without debate” by lawmakers “for a single six-year term”, and not by the public, according to the new text.

The vote comes less than a month before the next legislative elections in Togo, but it is not yet known when the change — which was approved with 89 votes in favour, one against and one abstention — will come into force.

Currently, the president can serve a maximum of two five-year terms.
The change to the constitution, proposed by a group of lawmakers mostly from the Union for the Republic ruling party, was adopted almost unanimously.

The country’s opposition, which boycotted the last legislative elections in 2018 and denounced “irregularities” in the electoral census, is poorly represented in the national assembly.

The new constitution also introduces the position of “president of the council of ministers” with “full authority and power to manage the affairs of the government and to be held accountable accordingly”.