ECOWAS Delegation Visits Togo Amid Constitutional Reform Tensions

West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS is expected to visit Togo on Monday to discuss the ongoing tensions over a constitutional reform that the opposition claims will extend President Faure Gnassingbe’s rule.

The delegation, led by Maman Sambo Sidikou, will stay until April 20 following a government invitation. Tensions have surged in Togo since last month, when lawmakers backed a constitutional reform that would move the country to a parliamentary system.

Meanwhile, the opposition fears this is a ploy to extend Gnassingbe’s rule, who has been in office since 2005 and won re-election in multiple votes. Togolese authorities have banned planned protests against the reform, further escalating tensions.

The opposition, which boycotted the last legislative elections in 2018, is now focusing on the April 29 polls that were pushed back from an initial date of April 20. The National Assembly is dominated by the UNIR party of Gnassingbe, who came to office in 2005.