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Togolese opposition parties and civil society groups on Thursday demanded President Faure Gnassingbe step down, urging a civil disobedience campaign following youth-led protests last week.
He “must return power to the Togolese people to whom national sovereignty belongs”, the National Alliance for Change (ANC), Democratic Forces for the Republic (FDR) and civil society groups said in a statement read at a press conference in the capital Lome.
The groups urged citizens to launch acts of civil disobedience from June 23 to thwart the “illegitimate” regime.
Dozens of protesters were dispersed with tear gas overnight from June 5 to 6 in several parts of Lome, including near the presidential palace.
More than 50 were detained.
Several remain in extended police custody.
Gnassingbe has led Togo since 2005, succeeding his father, who ruled for nearly four decades.
He consolidated power earlier this year by shifting to a parliamentary system with himself at the helm.
Critics accuse him of clinging to power indefinitely, while the government insists the reforms are meant to “depersonalise” the presidency.
The imposition of a constitution “without referendum, without popular consultation and without national consensus”, constituted a “high treason against the Togolese people and democracy”, the organisations said.
Protests have been banned in the west African country since 2022, following a deadly attack at Lome’s main market, though public meetings are still allowed.
“This is only the beginning of the Togolese people’s exasperation,”
David Dosseh, spokesperson of “Togo Citizens Stand Up”, a coalition of civil society groups, told AFP.
“The wall of fear is starting to crack. The youth is waking up.”
Gilbert Bawara, a minister of public service reform in Togo’s government, told AFP the changes reflect Togo’s “historical journey” and aim to strengthen “national unity and cohesion”.
