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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Togo |
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The Constitution of Togo was formally adopted 14 October 1992 and lastly revised in 2007.
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Togo |
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The Constitution of Togo was formally adopted 14 October 1992 and lastly revised in 2007.
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Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. The sovereign state extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its capital Lomé is located. Togo covers 57,000 square kilometres, making it one of the smallest countries in Africa, with a population of approximately 7.9 million.
The history of Togo can be traced to archaeological finds which indicate that ancient local tribes were able to produce pottery and process iron. During the period from the 11th century to the 16th century, the Ewé, the Mina, the Gun, and various other tribes entered the region. Most of them settled in coastal areas. The Portuguese arrived in the late 15th century, followed by other European powers. Until the 19th century, the coastal region was a major slave trade centre, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast".
Politics of Togo takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Togo is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Since independence the party system is dominated by the authoritarian Rally for the Togolese People.
Telecommunications in Togo include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.
Gnassingbé Eyadéma was the President of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005. He participated in two successful military coups, in January 1963 and January 1967, and became President on 14 April 1967.
The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Éperviers, represents Togo in international football and is controlled by the Togolese Football Federation. The national football team of Togo made their debut in the FIFA World Cup in 2006. Their team bus underwent a fatal attack in Angola prior to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. They withdrew and were subsequently banned from the following two tournaments by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). In 2013 for the first time in history, Togo reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé Eyadéma is a Togolese politician who has been the President of Togo since 2005. Before assuming the presidency, he was appointed by his father, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, as Minister of Equipment, Mines, Posts, and Telecommunications, serving from 2003 to 2005.
Presidential elections were held in Togo on 24 April 2005, following the death in office of long-time president Gnassingbé Eyadéma. The main candidates were Eyadéma's son, Faure Gnassingbé, and opposition leader Emmanuel Bob-Akitani. The elections and the preceding period were marked by violence, with many people reported killed in various incidents. According to the official results, Gnassingbé won the election, taking slightly more than 60% of the vote. Violence flared in the capital Lomé after the results were announced, and thousands fled into neighboring countries.
"Terre de nos aïeux" is the national anthem of Togo. The words and music were written by Alex Casimir-Dosseh, and it was the national anthem from independence in 1960 until 1979. In 1979 it was replaced in its capacity by a different composition created by the party of the Rally of the Togolese People. It was readopted in 1992.
French Togoland was a French colonial League of Nations mandate from 1916 to 1960 in French West Africa. In 1960 it became the independent Togolese Republic, and the present day nation of Togo.
The Rally of the Togolese People was the ruling political party in Togo from 1969 to 2012. It was founded by President Gnassingbé Eyadéma and headed by his son, President Faure Gnassingbé, after the former's death in 2005. Faure Gnassingbé replaced the RPT with a new ruling party, the Union for the Republic (UNIR), in April 2012, dissolving the RPT.
The National Emblem of Togo was adopted on 14 March 1962.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Togo:
A constitutional referendum was held in Togo on 9 April 1961 alongside the general elections. The changes to the constitution would make the country a presidential republic with a directly elected President. It was approved by 99.62% of voters with a 90% turnout.
A constitutional referendum was held in Togo on 5 May 1963 alongside the general elections. The changes to the constitution would make the country a presidential republic with a unicameral National Assembly. It was approved by 98.5% of voters with a 91.1% turnout.
A constitutional referendum was held in Togo on 30 December 1979, alongside simultaneous general elections. The changes to the constitution would make the country a presidential republic and a one-party state and were approved by 99.87% of voters with a 99.4% turnout.
A constitutional referendum was held in Togo on 27 September 1992. The changes to the constitution would restore multi-party democracy and were approved by 99.17% of voters with a 74.2% turnout.
Togo, a small, rich country in West Africa that was labeled "Not Free" by Freedom House from 1972 to 1998, and again from 2002 to 2006, and that has been categorized as "Partly Free" from 1999 to 2001 and again from 2007 to the present, has very serious and longstanding human-rights problems. According to a U.S. State Department report based on conditions in 2010, they include "security force use of excessive force, including torture, which resulted in deaths and injuries; official impunity; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrests and detention; lengthy pretrial detention; executive influence over the judiciary; infringement of citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on freedoms of press, assembly, and movement; official corruption; discrimination and violence against women; child abuse, including female genital mutilation (FGM), and sexual exploitation of children; regional and ethnic discrimination; trafficking in persons, especially women and children; societal discrimination against persons with disabilities; official and societal discrimination against homosexual persons; societal discrimination against persons with HIV; and forced labor, including by children."
