Togo sets April date for presidential election

The Togolese government has announced that the country’s presidential election would hold on April 15.

President Faure Gnassingbe (pictured), who succeeded his late father in 2005, is expected to partake in the poll, though he is yet to officially declare his intention.

About 700 delegates of Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), the ruling party, are set for a convention where Gnassingbe would be nominated as its candidate for the election.

“The delegates will make only one choice: Faure Gnassingbe, allowing him to continue the work begun in the country,” said Minzina Edimao, a student at the University of Lome.

In recent months, the main opposition parties have tried to introduce a bill in parliament to limit the terms that a president can serve to two.

But the reform was blocked by members of Gnassingbe’s party, who are the majority in parliament.

Opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre, who is also contesting the election, said his party would not give up in the quest to prevent the president from seeking another term.

“We will always continue the pressure on the regime so that these reforms can been enacted,” he said.

“But if we have to go to the elections without the reforms, we will mobilise the population to vote for me.”

Seven opposition politicians have announced their candidature for the poll.

Gnassingbe’s father, who ruled Togo for 38 years, was the one of longest-serving African leaders in his lifetime.