Legislative polls underway in Togo as opposition stage boycott

Togolese went to the polls on Thursday morning in a calm and under strong military presence to elect their deputies.

The vote is being boycotted by 14 opposition parties denouncing an ‘’ election hold up’‘ by the ruling party.

In the capital Lomé, most polling station opened at 7:00 GMT as planned. In the district of Doumassessé, home of the ruling UNIR party, voters had already lined up to cast their ballot according to AFP.

At the crossroads of the capital, and the service stations, the security forces including the police and military were deployed to prevent any violence during this vote.

With a boycott by the opposition coalition, the ruling party is guaranteed to win an absolute majority, which should enable it to solely carry out reforms in parliament.

Faure Gnassingbé, who has been in power since 2005, succeeded his father, General Eyadema Gnassingbé, who led the country for 38 years.

For more than a year, the opposition has intensified protests to demand the resignation of President Faure Gnassingbé and the number of presidential terms.

The demonstrations of 8 to 10 December killed at least four people. The opposition claimed that six people were shot dead.