Lawmakers Accept New Constitution.

Togolese lawmakers have accepted a new constitution from a presidential to a parliamentary system and giving parliament the power to elect the president of the small West African country, and currently, the president can serve a maximum of two five-year terms.

The change to the constitution, proposed by a group of lawmakers mostly from the Union for the Republic ruling party, was adopted almost unanimously.

The country’s opposition, which boycotted the last legislative elections in 2018 and denounced “irregularities” in the electoral census, is poorly represented in the national assembly, while, the new constitution also introduces the position of “president of the council of ministers” with “full authority and power to manage the affairs of the government and to be held accountable accordingly.

The change to the constitution, proposed by a group of lawmakers mostly from the Union for the Republic ruling party, was adopted almost unanimously, while, the country’s opposition, which boycotted the last legislative elections in 2018 and denounced “irregularities” in the electoral census, is poorly represented in the national assembly.

The new constitution also introduces the position of “president of the council of ministers” with “full authority and power to manage the affairs of the government and to be held accountable accordingly.