The political crisis in Togo has escalated to international proportions as a coalition of 43 civil society organizations (CSOs) from Africa and the diaspora formally calls on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), and the United Nations to impose sanctions against the Togolese government. The move follows a landmark ruling by the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, which deemed the March 2024 constitutional reform a ‘constitutional coup’ in violation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance.
This unified front of African CSOs is pressing for decisive action, arguing that the shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system—effectively transferring executive power to a Council President—represents an institutional maneuver to bypass term limits. The coalition further highlights that the contested amendments were approved by lawmakers whose mandates had already expired, with no public referendum to validate the changes.
Five concrete sanctions demanded by African civil society
The signatories are urging ECOWAS and the AU to move beyond verbal condemnations and implement five specific measures to uphold constitutional integrity in the region:
- Immediate suspension of Togo from all decision-making bodies within ECOWAS;
- Suspension of voting rights and participation for Togo within the African Union;
- Legal proceedings against architects of the contested institutional changes;
- Review of diplomatic appointments granted to Togolese government officials;
- Appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur to monitor human rights and governance in Togo.
Lomé’s defiant stance: sovereignty over international rulings
In response to the court’s decision and the mounting pressure from civil society, the Togolese government remains unyielding. Official statements from Lomé have dismissed the ECOWAS Court’s conclusions, asserting that the regional judiciary lacks the authority to review a member state’s constitutional amendments or interfere with its sovereign power to reform its institutions. The government contends that the transition to the Fifth Republic is an exclusively domestic affair aimed at modernizing Togo’s governance framework.
