Togo
Electoral Institution
The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI)
Population:
8 223 151
Eligible Voting Population:
3.614.056
Minimum Voter's Age:
18
Political Regime
The political system of Togo is Presidential with unicameral legislature. Since the constitutional revision of 2019, the Togolese president has been elected by a first-past-the-post majority in two rounds of voting for a five-year term, renewable once only. To win in the first round, a candidate must obtain an absolute majority of the votes cast. Failing this, a second round is held between the two leading candidates and the candidate with the most votes is declared elected. The National Assembly is the sole chamber of Togo's unicameral parliament. It is composed of 91 seats whose members are elected for five years by proportional representation.
Number of Political Parties:
111
Number of Election Held
General elections : 11 (Multiparty : 1961, 1963, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2015,2020 -Single Party: 1979, 1986) Parliamentary elections : 11 (Multiparty: 1958, 1961, 1963, 1994, 1999, 2002, 2007, 2018 -Single Party: 1979, 1985, 1990) Municipal: 3 (1987, 2019, 2024) Referendums : 6 (1956, 1961, 1963, 1972, 1979, 1992)
When are the Next Elections?
Presidential elections: 2025 Parliamentary elections: 2023
Togo became independent on 27 April 1960 and obtained a seat at the United Nations in September of the same year. Sylvanus Olympio was elected president at the expense of Nicolas Grunitzky, a candidate supported by France, in elections supervised by the UN. Togo's political life was for a long time led by Gnassingbé Eyadema who overthrew by coup d'etat the country's two first presidents, Sylvanus Olympio in 1963 and Nicolas Grunitzky in 1967. It was after the latter that Gnassingbé Eyadema took the reins of Togo until 2005, the year in which he died. In the hours following his death, and in the absence of the President of the National Assembly, the Togolese army decided to entrust power to Gnassingbé Eyadema's son, Faure Gnassingbé Eyadema. To this day, Faure Gnassingbé Eyadema is still the President of the country and was elected for a fourth term on 3 March 2020.