Togo: 43 civil society organizations denounce the constitutional reform.
Forty-three civil society organizations from Togo and Africa have sent an open letter to the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, to commend its decision on the constitutional reform adopted in Togo in 2024. They are calling for sanctions against Lomé, arguing that this reform constitutes an unconstitutional change of government.
SUMMARY
The Court issued its ruling at the end of January, before making it public in June. It considered that the text was adopted by a national assembly that had reached the end of its term and that its main objective was to bypass the limits imposed on presidential terms by the previous Constitution.
The reform established a fifth Republic based on a parliamentary system. It also eliminated the election of the President of the Republic by direct universal suffrage, a development denounced by the signatory organizations as a “constitutional coup” attributed to President Faure Gnassingbé.
For these associations, the decision of the community jurisdiction is final and must now be executed. “Whenever there is a ruling or verdict, its implementation is always difficult,” said Aisha Dabo, program coordinator for the organization Africtivists, engaged in the defense of democracy in Africa, in an interview with RFI.
Sanctions demanded against Lomé
The signatories are calling on the President of the ECOWAS Commission to ensure the effective implementation of the ruling. They specifically propose to limit Togo’s participation in the bodies of the regional organization as well as those of the African Union.
“There are sanctions that should limit Togo’s participation in the bodies of ECOWAS and the African Union,” explained Aisha Dabo. According to her, these measures are necessary to give concrete meaning to the decision rendered by the Court of Justice of the West African community.
The organizations are also calling on the Togolese government to organize programs and activities aimed at promoting democratic principles and good governance. They hope that these initiatives will respect the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.
Togo signed this charter in 2007. The associations believe that the Togolese authorities must now comply with the commitments made in this framework and take the consequences of the ruling from the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
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