Togo’s ruling party, the Union for the Republic (UNIR), has secured a commanding victory in the country’s latest municipal elections, winning 1,150 out of 1,527 council seats, according to provisional results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The elections, held on July 17 across Togo’s 117 municipalities, were marked by low voter turnout despite over 4.5 million registered citizens being eligible to cast their votes. Analysts link the subdued participation to recent political tensions and opposition-led calls for boycott.
While UNIR claimed over 75% of the vote, opposition parties made limited gains. The National Alliance for Change (ANC) secured 51 seats, followed by the Union of Forces for Change (UFC) with 38, and the Democratic Alliance for Integral Development (ADDI) with 34 seats. A local independent movement, “Togolese, Come, Act” — led by the mayor of Golfe 1, Joseph Gomado — obtained 24 seats.
This marks a significant increase in UNIR’s dominance compared to the 2019 local elections, where the party had claimed around 60% of the vote.
The Supreme Court is expected to validate the results in the coming days, in accordance with the country’s constitution.
Togo has experienced waves of civil unrest in recent months over proposed constitutional reforms and term-limit debates. The opposition alleges that these reforms aim to consolidate power around President Faure Gnassingbé, who has ruled the country since 2005.
Despite concerns about democratic space and transparency, the government has described the elections as a “success for local governance and decentralization.”