Voter turnout in Togo’s municipal elections overall low

Togolese voters went to the polls Thursday for municipal elections that were seen as a test for leader Faure Gnassingbé, who has faced rare and deadly protests recently, following a constitutional reform that could effectively keep him in power indefinitely.

Polling stations were largely deserted in Togo’s capital Lomé, reflecting widespread voter apathy and fear following the crackdown on anti-government protests that left several people dead in June.

Gnassingbé, who has ruled since 2005 after the death of his father and predecessor as president, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, was sworn in in May as president of the Council of Ministers.

The powerful role has no official term limits and he is eligible to be re-elected by Parliament indefinitely.

Diaspora-based social media influencers and civil society groups had called for a boycott of the municipal elections, the first national vote organized since the constitutional reform. They argued that the current electoral system lacks credibility and that the recent repression has silenced dissenting voices.

Police and military patrols were stationed at major intersections throughout Lomé, reinforcing a heavy security presence that many residents said contributed to the atmosphere of unease.

“The participation in the election is not good,” said Sémon Aboudou, standing outside a nearly empty voting center in Bè, a neighborhood considered a stronghold of the opposition. “Even in 2019, there was more enthusiasm,” he added.

“People are afraid — afraid of being attacked by protesters for legitimizing these elections, or afraid of being dispersed by security forces,” said Edem Adjaklo, a voter in the Gakli neighborhood.