Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe Will Run For Forth Term Despite Heavy Protest

African leaders are wildly known for being drunk with power, ruling for years and ruining their country in the process. The idea of democracy and justice is ridiculed in the eyes of leaders who see the countries they rule as their personal bank and property. There’s never an actual plan for the people, who are oppressed for years and end up pushing back against the government for their freedom. Often this leads to civil wars, month long protests, and countless casualties.

Togo faces this predicament as President Faure Gnassingbe announced yesterday he’ll be running for a forth term at next month’s national elections.

Faure Gnassingbe has been in power for about 15 years since he took over from his father Gnassingbe Eyadema after his death. His father led Togo with an iron fist for 38 years, and it seems the son is on the same path.

In May last year, Togo‘s parliament approved a constitutional change permitting long-standing President Faure Gnassingbe to potentially stay in office until 2030, despite widespread protests calling for the end of his family’s decades-long grip on power.

Union for the Republic (UNIR) party secretary Aklesso Atchole said it was the “unanimous will of members” for the president to stand again as its candidate at the vote on February 22.

“Activists wish to see me still wearing our party colours in the presidential election. I thanked them and in all humility, I accepted,” Gnassingbe told journalists.

In 2017 deadly clashes erupted over the proposed constitutional changes leading to security forces cracking down on demonstrators calling for Gnassingbe’s resignation – echoing a mass movement against his first appointment in 2005 during which at least 500 people were killed, AlJazeera reports.

Countless anti-government protests have been led by the Togolese in the past to force him to step down from power but a crackdown from the government and internal squabbles have seen the opposition fail to keep up.

Anyone wishing to run against the president has until Wednesday to file their candidacy with the country’s election authorities. Opposition leader Jean-Pierre Fabre, and other opponents have vowed to stand against the President.