Low turnout in Togo municipal elections seen as test for the country’s president

LOME, Togo (AP) — Togolese voters went to the polls on Thursday in municipal elections seen as a test for the country’s leader Faure Gnassingbé, who has faced rare and deadly protests after a recent constitutional reform that could effectively keep him in power indefinitely.

Polling stations remained largely deserted in Togo’s capital, Lomé, reflecting widespread voter apathy and fear following the crackdown on anti-government protests that left several people dead in June.

Gnassingbé, who has ruled since 2005 after the death of his father and predecessor as president, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, was sworn in as president of the Council of Ministers in May. The powerful role has no official term limits and he is eligible to be reelected by Parliament indefinitely.

Diaspora-based social media influencers and civil society groups had called for a boycott of the elections, the first national vote organized since the constitutional reform. They argued that the current electoral system lacks credibility and that the recent repression has silenced dissenting voices.

Police and military patrols were stationed at major intersections throughout Lomé, reinforcing a heavy security presence that many residents said contributed to the atmosphere of unease.

“I’ve been voting since 1998, but this year is nothing like the others,” Sémon Aboudou said outside a nearly empty voting center in the Bè neighborhood, considered an opposition stronghold. “Even in 2019, there was more enthusiasm. Now people don’t see any change coming.”

“People are afraid — afraid of being attacked by protesters for legitimizing these elections, or afraid of being dispersed by security forces,” said Edem Adjaklo, a voter in the Gakli neighborhood. “They feel it’s pointless to vote because the results are always the same — predetermined.”