Togo President Gnassingbe wins re-election in landslide: preliminary results
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Read < 1minuteFILE PHOTO: Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe attends the summit of the Heads of state from the eight-nation West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast July 12, 2019. REUTERS/Luc Gnago
Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe has won re-election with 72% of the vote, according to preliminary results from the electoral commission on Monday, extending his 15-year rule and a family dynasty that began when his father took power in a 1967 coup.
Despite widespread disaffection and protests calling for him to step down, a fractured opposition has struggled to launch a converted campaign to unseat Gnassingbe in the small West African country of 8 million people.
Throughout his campaign, 53-year-old Gnassingbé had promised to fight poverty in the country through comprehensive reform programs.
Last year, the president instituted constitutional reforms that would allow him to rule until 2030.
