Togo leader swaps titles after contested shift to parliamentary system

Togolese leader Faure Gnassingbe, whose family has ruled the west African country for nearly six decades, swapped titles on Saturday to complete a constitutional reform criticised by his political opponents.

Gnassingbe, who came to power on the death of his father Eyadema Gnassingbe in 2005, took the oath as the President of the Council of Ministers, now the highest executive office in the land following last year's reform.

His opponents see Togo's shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system, enacted in May 2024 and completed by Saturday's swearing-in, as a means for Gnassingbe to extend his stay in power.

Following the reform Gnassingbe's original role of President of the Republic has become a ceremonial post, replaced as the executive office by the President of the Council of Ministers.

Majority party

That office would be drawn from the majority party in the National Assembly - currently Gnassingbe's Union for the Republic party (UNIR), which won 108 of the 113 parliamentary seats last year in a vote dismissed by the opposition as a sham.

The UNIR likewise won 34 out of 41 seats in the Senate, though the main opposition parties boycotted the ballot.

Foreign correspondents were not given accreditation to cover the elections.

However, the main opposition parties have said they will take part in the upcoming municipal elections, scheduled for July 10.