Togo’s Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) has cleared seven people including incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe to contest the upcoming presidential election.
Gnassingbe is expected to face a challenge to his re-election from candidates like Jean-Pierre Fabre, 68 who is president of National Alliance for Change (ANC).
Fabre was the closest rival to Gnassingbe in the previous election in 2015 which had to be contested in court.
Since 2018 there have been agitations and political tension in Togo without any resolution.
Some of the opposition parties then boycotted the parliamentary elections the same year.
Opposition to President Faure Gnassingbe who took over from his father in 2005 has been met with security crackdown.
Campaigning will start on February 6 with the vote taking place on February 22, 2020.
The Gnassingbe family has been ruling Togo for over 50 years now.
The Togolese President took over from his father Eyadema in 2005 after he died while in power for 38 years. He has since won elections in 2005, 2010 and 2015.
Gnassingbe got the two-term limit for the Togo presidency scrapped in 2017 to allow him to further prolong his rule.
With his decision to seek re-election this year, there are fears he would further prolong the presidency of Gnassingbe until 2030.
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Source: Africafeeds.com
