Faure Gnassingbé, heir to a dynasty in power in Togo for more than half a century

Legislative elections held on April 29 were just a formality for Faure Gnassingbé, who has led Togo for 19 years after succeeding his father, Eyadém Gnassingbé, who ruled the country with an iron fist for nearly 38 years.

Faure Gnassingbé, who will turn 58 in June, is the heir to a dynasty in power for more than half a century in this small country of 8 million people, where 40% of the population lives below the poverty line and which ranks 167 out of 189 on the Humane Index development of the United Nations.

After fifteen years of studying abroad and a management degree in Paris and an MBA from George Washington University in the United States, “Baby Gnass”, as his political opponents condescendingly called him, ascended to the top of the country in 2005 just before his fortieth birthday, following the death of his father. His election was marred by violence that left between 400 and 500 dead, according to the UN.

Four years later, he did not hesitate to send one of his half-brothers, Kpatch, to prison for 20 years for “attempted coup”. This inveterate bachelor with no official descendants was re-elected four times in elections where there was always an opposition that systematically denounced fraud, irregularities and repression.

To his detractors who accuse him of authoritarianism, he calmly replied to AFP in 2020 that he “does not feel the soul of a dictator”. The new Constitution adopted by Togolese MPs on April 19 abolished the election of the head of state by universal suffrage and established a parliamentary rather than a presidential regime.

The opposition sees it as a way for Mr. Gnassingbé remains at the head of the country indefinitely, because the new provisions are so favorable to him. Because if he soon leaves the supreme magistracy, which has become an ordinary honorary title, it is not to cede power.

According to the new Constitution, the exercise of power is now in the hands of the President of the Council of Ministers, a sort of super prime minister who concentrates sovereign functions and whose holder is automatically the leader of the majority party in the National Assembly. This is the case of Mr. Gnassingbé, head of the Union for the Republic (Unir), a party that won 108 of 113 deputies in parliamentary elections on April 29, according to provisional results announced on Saturday.

According to the previous Constitution, Mr. Gnassingbé could only run for the last presidential term in 2025. The constitutional change and his electoral triumph ensure that he will remain master of Togo for at least the next six years.

“It is a monarchization that does not speak its name,” says Michel Goeh-Akue, a historian close to the opposition. Averse to crowd-bashing and relatively tight-lipped with his words, “The Young Doyen”, a nickname coined by Ivorian President Alassan Ouattara, has gradually established himself as a mediator in the various political crises that have rocked Africa for several years.

Like in Niger, where the military in power since last July asked him to mediate with ECOWAS. This did not prevent the coup regime from announcing its withdrawal from the West African regional institution. He was previously involved in the crisis in Mali and tensions between Abidjan and Bamako.

France, a former colonial power and traditional ally of the Gnassingbé dynasty, is particularly sensitive to Togo’s stability in this volatile region, from which it is gradually being driven out after recent coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Mr. Gnassingbé is also increasing efforts to reach out to the English-speaking West: Togo joined the Commonwealth in 2022 and expects Washington to benefit from development aid programs.