Govt delays Apr. 20 polls: Govt delays Apr. 20 polls: On Monday, April 8th, Togolese lawmakers began a nationwide consultation process after enacting a controversial constitutional revision at the end of March. Legislators participating in the reform process are facing issues about their legitimacy, thus this step is an attempt to engage the public.
Togolese legislators will visit several communities over the course of three days to talk to people and spread the word about the new constitution. Members of the society’s elite and customary rulers are the primary focus of the consultations.
Togo will be moving from a presidential to a parliamentary system, as one of the major changes brought about by the March 25th approved draft constitution is the transfer of presidential power to parliament. Also, the measure only allows presidents to serve for one term, giving greater authority to someone like the prime minister who is formally named president of the council of ministers.
The opposition, however, is worried that President Gnassingbé may be able to use this position to stay in office for an extended period of time. In Togo, the Gnassingbé family has held sway over politics since 1967.
Some members of parliament have had their legitimacy called into doubt as their terms were about to end at the end of last year, even though lawmakers have adopted the new constitution. The other side argues that these MPs can only deal with super-urgent issues and that a referendum is required for any fundamental change.
In response to the public’s disapproval of the March 25th referendum, the president ordered lawmakers to examine the constitutional reform. During his meeting with the bureau of the National Assembly on April 3rd, President Faure Gnassingbé emphasized the significance of taking into account the opinions of many stakeholders in order to strengthen the constitution.
As a result, the government has decided to delay the April 20th legislative and regional elections. Nevertheless, the new polling date is still unknown. Elections were originally scheduled for April 20th, and almost 4.2 million Togolese individuals were enrolled to vote.
