Togo

Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections.

Background

Election date(s)

The date when elections started and ended for directly or indirectly elected parliaments/chambers. The date of appointments for appointed parliaments/chambers.

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20 Dec 2018

Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature

Date at which the previous legislature (elected at the previous elections) was dissolved.

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No information available

Timing of election

Timing of election: Upon normal expiry; Early elections; Delayed elections

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Delayed elections

Expected date of next elections

The expected date at which the next elections should take place, based on law or practice.

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29 Apr 2024

Number of seats at stake

Number of seats contested at the elections. Where the parliament/chamber is fully renewed, this number is usually identical to the statutory number of members. Where the parliament/chamber is partially renewed or appointed, the number of seats at stake is usually less than the total number of members.

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91

Scope of elections

Scope of elections: Full renewal; Partial renewal.

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Full renewal

Candidates

Total number of candidates

Total number of people who registered as candidates for election. Does not include people who stood as candidates to become "substitute members".

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856

Voter turnout

Registered voters

Number of people registered to vote

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3,155,837

Voters

Number of people who actually voted

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1,869,717

Voter turnout

The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of people who actually voted by the number of people registered to vote

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59.2%

Results

About the election

Short description of the context and results of the election.

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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.

Number of parties winning seats

The number of parties which won parliamentary representation in the given election.

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6

Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition

The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of seats won by the largest party by the number of seats at stake in the election.

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64.8%

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Members elected, by sex

Number of men elected

76

Number of women elected

15

Percentage of women elected

The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women elected by the number of seats filled.

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16.5%

Women Directly Elected

15

Sources

National Assembly (09.01.2019)

Radio France Internationale

Le Monde

France 24

koaci.com

New legislature

Total number of men after the election

The total number of male parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.

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76

Total number of women after the election

The total number of female parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.

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15

Percentage of women after the election

The percentage is calculated by dividing the total number of women in this parliament/chamber by the current number of members.

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16.5%

First-term parliamentarians

The number of members who are assuming their parliamentary mandate for the first time following the election or renewal, regardless of their mode of designation.

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No information available

Percentage of first-term parliamentarians

The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of first-term parliamentarians by the number of seats at stake in the election.

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No information available

Date of the first session

The date when the newly elected parliament/chamber was convened for the first time. It may be different from the date when members were sworn in.

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08 Jan 2019

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature

Yawa Djigbodi Tsegan (Female)
Date of birth: 08 May 1971

Political party

The political party to which the Speaker belonged to at the moment of the election. In some parliaments, the Speaker suspends or relinquishes their party membership during their term in office and is considered as an independent member.

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Union for the Republic (UNIR)

Date of election

The date of the election of the Speaker may be different from the date of the first session of the new legislature.

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23 Jan 2019