The Opposition in Togo Demands Protests and Rejects Constitutional Reform.

The country’s parliamentarians approved a new constitution earlier this week that abolishes direct elections and gives parliament the authority to select the president. President Faure Gnassingbé must yet approve it. Given this, it seems likely that Gnassingbé will run for office again in 2025 when his current term ends.

According to some legal experts, the Constitution essentially limits the power of future presidents by imposing a one-term limit and giving more authority to a position known as the president of the Council of Ministers, akin to a prime minister. However, the opposition worries that Gnassingbé would use the position to consolidate his control.

The President of the Council of Ministers will be either “the leader of the party which secures the president not to sign the bill into law. “Such an important subject which will profoundly change the political life of the country must give rise to broad consultation and a more inclusive national debate,” the Conference of Togolese Catholic bishops said in a statement.