Togo And Gnassingbé’s’ Rule
Togo is a West African country that has been ruled by the Gnassingbe family for a very long time. Sylvanus Olympio is the first president who ruled from 1960-1963, the same here he died (1963). Eyadema led the coup, which resulted in the assassination of Epiphanio. Nicolas Grunstzky was the second president of Togo but was overthrown by Eyadema, who again led the second coup in the country.
On April 14, 1967, he declared himself as President and ruled till 2005. His son Faure Gnassingbe succeeded his father after his death. Eyadema had a cultic political career. In a tragic airplane crash, he was the only survivor, but in a real sense, there were others involved. In most of his appearances, he loved to be praised.
Faure Gnassingbe And Togo
Faure, with the help of the army, is appointed the President. This was against the legality of the constitution and was forced to resign later. On April 24, 2005, Faure Gnassingbe is elected as the President. The elections were rigged and rendered false.
Surprisingly in the year 2010, he is re-elected in the office, which he rules for another five years. He won another term in 2015 to the present day. However, reports around prove Faure’s victory was undeserving since people believe he used fraud methods to get in power.
Election Day And Constitutional Changes
The election is expected to take place today (February 22, 2020) It is the first polls to take place since the constitutional changes were made. In this new change, a president is supposed to rule for 2 terms of 5 years each. President Faure is highly anticipated to win the election, and this will allow him to rule for the next ten years if he wins.
Seven candidates are supposed to be in this presidential race since the Court did not accept 3 of them. Faure Gnassingbe, Jean Pierre, Agbeyome, Kodjo, Komi Wolou, Mohamed Tchassona, Georges William, and Tchaboure Gogue are the 7 candidates who will compete for the President’s seat.
Jean Fabre is seen as the one who will give Faure Gnassingbe more competition. He is the leader of the protesters who emphasized on term limits of a president to rule the country.
The Voting Process
The exercise is expected to kick off early. Polling stations will be open at 7:00 GMT and closed at 1600 GMT. 3.6milliom people are expected to participate in the election. The body in charge of Elections is supposed to conduct the process with much wisdom to ensure tranquility.
After 6 days, the results are expected to be announced provisionally.
The Dark Side Of The Election
Tchambakou Ayassor, head of the Independent National Electoral Commission, has decided that the elections will be conducted manually. He believes that the electronic system of voting is hacked and might produce false results.
Some primary observers have also been barred, too, since they may be involved in the rigging of votes that will be cast.
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