President Faure Gnassingbe's Union for the Republic (UNIR) retained the majority in the 91-member National Assembly. The Union of Forces for Change (UFC, see note 1) became the largest opposition force with seven seats amid the elections boycott by the C14 coalition (see note 2). In January 2019, Ms. Yawa Djigbodi Tsegan was elected the Speaker of the newly elected National Assembly, becoming the first woman in Togo to assume the post.

The 2018 elections were the first to be held after the massive protests in August 2017 had turned deadly. Protesters, initially led by the Pan-African National Party of Mr. Tikpi Atchadam, allied with 13 other parties to form the C14 coalition. The C14 demanded political reforms, in particular the re-introduction of the two-term limit for the presidency (see note 3). The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) facilitated the mediation process. In July 2018, it urged the Togolese Government to carry out a comprehensive revision of the voters' register, with a view to holding legislative elections on 20 December.

The C14 called for an elections boycott, citing "irregularities" in preparations for the vote. It continued to demand the electoral process to be halted until the two-term presidential limit was re-introduced. Other opposition forces, such as the UFC and the New Togolese Commitment (NET), called on voters to register for the 2018 elections so as to prevent UNIR from dominating Parliament.

Note 1:
The UFC, led by Mr. Gilchrist Olympio (son of Togo's first President, Sylvanus Olympio), was the main opposition force in the 2007 elections but joined the coalition government in 2010. In 2017, Mr. Olympio demanded the return to the 1992 Constitution and urged the President not to seek a new mandate.

Note 2:
The C14 coalition included Mr. Jean-Pierre Fabre's National Alliance for Change (ANC). The ANC had led Let's Save Togo Movement (CST) in the 2013 elections and when it had taken 19 seats.

Note 3:
The 1992 constitution established a multi-party democracy and a two-term limit for the presidency (10 years in all). However, in 2002, Parliament amended the Constitution so as to enable the then President Mr. Gnassingbe Eyadéma (who seized power in the 1967 coup) to run for another term. The incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe has been in power since the passing of his father in 2005.