Togo - April 2024
Ruling party wins 96 per cent of seats in legislative elections
Togo’s legislative elections, originally scheduled for 13 April but held on 29 April, were won by President Faure Gnassingbé’s ruling party, the Union for the Republic (Union Pour la République, UNIR), with provisional results showing it had secured 108 (96 per cent) of the 113 seats in the National Assembly. The remaining five seats were split between three opposition parties. The seats were contested by 2,348 validated candidates, of whom 593 (25 per cent) were women. Togo’s electoral commission reported turnout to be 61 per cent of registered voters. The election was criticized by the opposition, who alleged numerous irregularities, including overvoting, delays to the start of voting and ballot stuffing. The leader of the Democratic Convention of African Peoples Party (Convention démocratique des peuples africains, CDPA) said that she intended to challenge the election results. The poll, however, received the approval of international observers from various regional organizations, including the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, who despite noting minor concerns gave it a positive assessment.
Sources: Togo Officiel, Africa News, Voice of America, Radio France Internationale, Economic Community of West African States, Jeune Afrique
