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Togo held municipal elections on Thursday, following recent deadly protests in the West African nation, which has been ruled by the same family since 1967.
Young protesters have been demonstrating since June, voicing anger over the economy, unemployment, and government repression of critics. Such unrest is uncommon in Togo, as Faure Gnassingbe’s government, in power for 20 years, has increased its crackdown on dissent. Rights groups have accused police of causing the deaths of seven marchers in the June protests, with activists reportedly finding bodies in the capital’s rivers.
Despite calls for new demonstrations against Gnassingbe, Lome, the seaside capital, remained quiet on Thursday, with a heavy police presence on main avenues. As is customary on polling days, the country’s land borders were closed. Most polling stations opened on schedule at 7 AM (GMT), but an AFP journalist observed that voters were only “trickling in in drips and drabs.”
Bernisse Adjo, in charge of a polling station at the Attiegou school, told AFP: “Voters are coming in one by one. We hope they will turn out in the afternoon. But voting is proceeding calmly.”
Just over half of Togo’s eight million people voted in the last municipal elections in 2019, according to the electoral commission, with particularly low turnout in the capital. Gnassingbe’s ruling party won those elections overwhelmingly, securing over 60% of the councillor seats.
Gnassingbe assumed power in 2005 after his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who had ruled for 38 years, passed away. This dynastic transition sparked widespread anti-government demonstrations, with further protests occurring in 2013, 2017, and 2018.
