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Rabat – The West African nation of Togo voted in local and municipal elections, on Thursday. This comes after a series of violent protests over the last month.
Polling stations were opened at the nation’s police stations on July 17, for the local elections to vote in the countries 117 municipal localities.
There was heavy security centered around the nation’s capital to try and secure the vote, and make sure that citizens could reach polling stations.
Despite this, due to a large boycott of the election by protestors and the opposition, Togo’s capital was largely deserted by citizens, and many have commented on the historically low voter turnout.
“People are afraid of being attacked by protestors for legitimizing these elections or afraid of being dispersed by security forces, they feel it is pointless to vote because the results are always the same and pre-determined,” a member of the human rights organization within the country stated.
However, due to the heavy police presence and atmosphere of fear that has swept the country, electoral observers commented on the peaceful nature of the vote.
This marks the first vote that has taken place since Faure Gnassingbe reformed the constitution and allowed himself to take power for life.
Gnassingbe has been in charge of Togo serving as the country’s dynastic strongman since his father’s death in 2005.
He was elected earlier this year as the president of the council of ministers, a new position that effectively has no term limits.
Social media influencers and civil society groups have labelled the new policies by the Gnassingbe government as authoritarian and a constitutional coup d’etat.
This contributed to large-scale protests which have taken place throughout June, leading to violent clashes with the police.
The protesters, part of the M66 movement, have been calling for the removal of the president and mobilized against authoritarianism in the country. The police have responded by arresting, beating and even killing protestors.
Around seven individuals have also been abducted and extrajudicially killed and dumped in rivers around the capital. The government claims that they drowned.
These elections signify a dark moment for democracy in Togo, as the government takes more control over the nation’s institutions.
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