Komi Sélom Klassou had been Prime Minister, since 2015, of this country of eight million inhabitants, led for more than half a century by the Gnassingbé family.
The political change had been expected in Togo since Faure Gnassingbé was re-elected in February to the presidency for a fourth term, but that change has been delayed by the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus.
The Togolese president has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Komi Sélom Klassou and his government, announced Friday evening, September 25, a statement published on the official website of the presidency. “The Head of State congratulated the Prime Minister and the entire government team for the efforts made on the economic, political, and social levels and the encouraging results achieved despite the difficult context marked by the health crisis currently affecting the entire world,” the statement said.
Mr. Klassou had been Prime Minister since 2015. Faure Gnassingbé “thanked the head of government for his high sense of duty and instructed him to dispatch the current affairs,” says the presidential statement.
Economy hit by the pandemic
Faure Gnassingbé’s victory in the presidential election was achieved after an amendment to the constitution that allowed him to run again. Faure Gnassingbé was declared the winner in the first round of voting on February 22 with 70.78 percent of the vote ahead of Agbéyomé Kodjo (19.46 percent). The opposition denounced ballot box stuffing, pre-signed minutes, and falsified results reports.
The Gnassingbé family has ruled this West African country for more than half a century. Faure Gnassingbé has presided over Togo, a country of eight million inhabitants, since 2005, when he succeeded his late father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who ruled the country with an iron fist for thirty-eight years.
Togo’s economy was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, as the authorities imposed restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus. To date, 1,722 cases of infection and 44 deaths due to the virus have been recorded in Togo.
Source: Le Monde
