Togo: As political parties try to win over voters, Lome’s streets are transformed into campaign rallies

In the nation’s capital, Lome, the election campaign for Togo’s legislative and regional elections got underway on Saturday. One opposition party, the Alliance nationale pour le changement, ushered in its campaign with much ceremony, bringing a caravan through the streets of Lomé.

The campaign is happening against the backdrop of demonstrations over the government’s proposed constitutional amendment.

We know we’re going to fight them, which is why we’re calm here. We refuse to allow a proponent of the perpetual power grab to force his agenda on us, declares ANC President Jean-Pierre Fabre.

A key issue at stake in these elections, according to the Forces Démocratiques Républicaines FDR, another opposition group, is constitutional amendment.

“We would like to vote on sanction. In order to defeat them in the voting booth and demonstrate that the people are the source of strength, Emmanuel Alatodé, a card-carrying FDR supporter, told Africanews.

In the meantime, in an attempt to win over voters, members of the ruling UNIR party also came to the streets. They wound their way across the capital city of Togo, crossing multiple roads before gathering at a meeting spot to hear from their leaders.

“The challenge is straightforward: to demonstrate the Togolese people’s faith and support for whatever we undertake. Gilbert Bawara, a minister and member of the ruling party, stated that the goal was to simultaneously tell the Togolese people, “We will listen to you, and we will act to improve and accelerate everything we have done so far.”