Togo's presidency has asked the parliament for a"second reading" of a controversial constitutional reform approved last week following public outcry over what opponents say is a ploy by President Faure Gnassingbé to hold onto power and extend his nearly two-decade-long rule.
This would make it likely that Gnassingbé, whose party controls the parliament, would be re-elected in next year's presidential election.The move towards a parliamentary system is a way for Gnassingbé to avoid facing voters at the polls, says Brigitte Adjamagbo-Johnson, of the opposition Democratic convention of the African people .
Gnassingbé has ruled the country for 19 years, since 2005 when he took over after the death of his father, Gnassingbé Eyadema, who seized power in a coup in 1967. The last elections date back to Adjamagbo-Johnson says that while parliamentary systems like this exist elsewhere, the reform in Togo would not work in the current context.
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