Who Can Break The Family Yoke in Togo?

Togolese leader Faure Gnassingbé was sworn in this week as the inaugural “President of the Council of Ministers,” a newly created position to cement his grip on power under a controversial constitutional overhaul, which critics decry as a bid to extend his family’s 58-year dynastic rule indefinitely. 

The move follows the adoption of a revised constitution last year, approved by a legislature dominated by Gnassingbé’s Union party, which abolishes presidential elections and transitions Togo from a presidential to a parliamentary system. Under these reforms, the presidency becomes a largely ceremonial role, while executive authority shifts to the council president—a post with no term limits, effectively enabling Gnassingbé to govern unchecked. Opposition leaders and civil society groups have condemned the changes as an “institutional coup,” accusing the longtime ruler of manipulating legal frameworks to evade democratic accountability. 

A Dynasty Entrenched

The Gnassingbé family has held an unbroken monopoly on power since 1967, when Faure’s father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, seized control in a military coup. Eyadéma ruled for 38 years till his death in 2005, after which Faure assumed power through a disputed election marred by violence. In his fourth term, the 57-year-old leader has faced mounting pressure over his refusal to honor past pledges to limit presidential mandates. 

Initially paused in 2023 amid nationwide protests, the constitutional review was revived and ratified by lawmakers in April with minimal public consultation. Gnassingbé’s Union for the Republic (UNIR) party, which holds 108 of 113 parliamentary seats following a boycotted 2023 election, dismissed opposition concerns as “alarmist.” Government officials insist the reforms “modernize governance” and “distribute power,” but analysts argue the changes merely formalize autocratic control. 

“This is a masterstroke of political engineering,” said a Lomé-based political researcher. “Gnassingbé has stripped the presidency of its executive weight only to reclaim it under a different title—all while erasing term limits. His authority is now more entrenched than ever.” 

Can The Yoke Be Broken?

Togo’s municipal elections in July, the first under the new system, will serve as a litmus test for the revised power structure. Opposition coalitions, weakened by infighting and repression, have struggled to mobilize against UNIR’s machinery. Jean-Pierre Fabre, a veteran opposition leader, likened the reforms to “a constitutional straitjacket” designed to perpetuate “one-family rule.” 

International observers, including the African Union and ECOWAS, have remained largely silent, drawing accusations of complacency. Meanwhile, activists warn that Togo’s democratic backslide sets a dangerous precedent in West Africa, a region already reeling from a wave of military takeovers. 

As Gnassingbé prepares to govern under his new title, questions linger over whether Togolese citizens, nearly 60% of whom were born after the dynasty began, will ever see a transition of power. For now, the Gnassingbé era shows no signs of ending—only evolving.