Того: "Династия Гнассингбе" и президентские выборы 2020г.

В феврале 2020 г. в Того состоялись президентские выборы, победу на которых одержал действующий президент Фор Эссозимна Гнассингбе - сын и политический преемник Гнассингбе Эйадемы (до 8 мая 1974 г. - Этьен Эйадема), управлявшего страной 38 лет (1967-2005 гг.). Приняв в 2019 г. поправки к конституции, ограничивающие период пребывания одного и того же лица на высшей государственной должности двумя сроками, но одновременно обнулив два предыдущих срока своего президентства, Ф.Гнассингбе отыграл для себя возможность баллотироваться в 2025 г. и, таким образом, управлять страной до 2030 г. Эти антиконституционные действия президента вызвали массовые протесты оппозиции. В статье рассматриваются причины и предпосылки политического кризиса в Того.

In February 2020, Togo held a presidential election, which was won by the incumbent President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé - the son and political successor of Gnassingbé Eyadema (before 8 May 1974 - Étienne Eyadema), who had ruled the country for 38 years (1967-2005). In 2019, F. Gnassingbé forced through constitutional changes that capped presidents to serving two terms but did not apply retroactively and also reset the current leader’s term limits, which provoked mass opposition protests. As a result of the constitutional amendment, F.Gnassingbé became eligible to run for president in 2020 and 2025 and could potentially manage the country until 2030. One of the preconditions for F. Gnassingbé’s landslide electoral victory in February 2020 was the absence of an alternative candidate who could put forward and, most importantly, implement a program for more effective development of the country. Neither the weak and fragmented opposition, represented by rival political parties, student organizations and the Catholic Church, nor the ruling group, completely satisfied with the Gnassingbé regime, which allowed it to retain power and privileges, challenged the candidacy of Gnassingbé. The paper argues that political longevity in itself is not a serious problem, which, in particular, is supported by the examples of Rwanda’s Paul Kagame (2000-present) and Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni (1986-present), who have achieved notable success in implementing economic development and ensuring political stability. However, political longevity may be justified only when it is not accompanied by the rampant growth of corruption, impunity and escalation of conflicts. In Togo in recent years, all of these trends have been observed, but Gnassingbé’s convincing electoral victory demonstrated the apparent coincidence of interests of the insatiable leader and the country’s population, which is deprived of many civil liberties but lives in relative peace and prosperity.