Togo opposition unites against constitution changes

Togo opposition parties announced Tuesday that they were uniting against constitutional changes they say allow leader Faure Gnassingbe to consolidate power.

Leading opposition parties, including the National Alliance for Change and the Alliance of Democrats for Integral Development, presented a memorandum in Lome proposing what they called a way out of the crisis.

They cited a ruling by the ECOWAS Court of Justice that said the reform amounted to an unconstitutional change of government. Nathaniel Olympio, a member of the new united front, said opponents of the new constitution had come together to act using the ruling.

The 2024 constitution abolished election of the head of state by universal suffrage and created a parliamentary system. The highest office is now president of the council, a post currently held by Gnassingbe, who has been in power since 2005.

The ruling bloc says the constitution ensures greater representation. In late July, Togo's government said the ECOWAS court had no jurisdiction to review the constitutionality of domestic law.

Civil society groups said protests against the constitution last year left seven people dead.