POLL: Ecowas deploys fact-finding mission to Togo

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr Omar Alieu Touray, has deployed a Fact-Finding mission to Togo to interact with key stakeholders on the latest developments in the country ahead of the country’s legislative and regional elections on 29th April 2024.

The elections, initially scheduled for 13th April, were first postponed to 20th April and then further delayed to 29th April due to the gravity of the contentious constitutional reforms the Government planned to introduce.

These reforms, passed through the National Assembly, aimed to transform the Togolese political system from a presidential to a parliamentary model. In this crucial context, the ECOWAS Commission has deemed it necessary to dispatch a fact-finding mission to Togo.

Under the constitutional changes, members of Parliament will elect the President, who will, in turn, appoint the President of the Council of Ministers with executive powers, the equivalent of a Prime Minister under the Westminster system. Such a President would be appointed from within the party or coalition with a parliamentary majority.

The seven-member Fact-Finding Mission, which is partly in response to an earlier invitation by the Togolese government, is led by Maman Sambo Sidikou, the immediate past head of the AU Mission in Mali and the Sahel. It shall remain in the country from 15th to 20th April.