Tensions have erupted in Togo after protests against the ruling Gnassingbe family over the weekend turned deadly.
A group of Togolese opposition parties have called for a march in Lome on August 30th and 31st to demand political reforms, according to a statement released on Wednesday evening.
“In response to the expectations of the Togolese Cap 2015, the Groupe des 6 and the PNP agreed on Wednesday and agreed to join forces to bring about the liberation struggle of Togo,” the statement said.
“Already, Cap 2015, the Group of 6 and the PNP have made arrangements to contact other opposition political parties, civil society organizations, the Diaspora and all patriots, so that they can reinforce this great movement of national liberation, “adds the text.
These political parties are also calling for an “independent investigation to bring to justice the perpetrators and the sponsors of the violence” recorded during Saturday’s demonstrations.
These demonstrations left two people dead including one by a bullet in Sokodé, 300 km north of Lomé.
The Togolese opposition has been demanding for ten years that the Constitution – modified in 2002 – be revised, in particular to reintroduce a limitation of presidential terms to 10 years at the most.
It also requires a two-ballot system, a constitutional reform of the Constitutional Court and the Electoral Commission.
President Faure Gnassingbé succeeded his father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma – who led Togo with an iron fist for 38 years – to the presidential election of 2005 with the support of the army, before being re-elected in 2010 and In 2015 during highly contested elections by the opposition.
