2017–2018 Togolese protests
Social unrest in Togo / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2017–18 Togolese protests were a significant representation of civil unrest in Togo and against the 50 year rule of the father-son combination of Gnassingbé Eyadéma and Faure Gnassingbé.[1] The protesters demanded that the president honour the 1992 constitution, and demanding that he step down immediately. Gnassingbé offered the protesters the option of enacting the two-term limit set in the constitution effective from 2018,[2][3] thus ensuring that he could stay in power until 2030. This has been rejected by the opposition.[4] However, on 8 May 2019 the Togolese Parliament voted unanimously to accept this amendment and imposed this non-retroactive term limit on the president's office.[5]
As the protests continued, the opposition started focusing more on protesting Gnassingbé's rule.[6] Starting in August 2017, the opposition held protests on a near-weekly basis.[7] The scale of the protests have been enormous, with some estimates claiming 800,000 present at one protest in a country of 6.6 million.[4] The demonstrations are also taking place all over the country, even in the north, the traditional power base for the Gnassingbé family.[8] The Togolese government has responded to these protests by shutting down the internet.[9][10] The protesters utilised social media, with the hashtag #togodebut for publicity.[11] The protests and police response have resulted in the deaths of at least 16 people, including two soldiers.[12] In response to the protests, Gnassingbé offered some concessions to the opposition, but held onto power due to his crackdown on activists.[13]