Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – Thirty-seven civil society organizations from across Africa have sharply criticized the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for what they describe as its inadequate response to Togo’s worsening political crisis.
In a strongly worded joint declaration obtained by The Gambia Journal, the groups—including Africajom Center, AfricTivists, and the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC)—accuse ECOWAS of downplaying what they call a “constitutional coup” in Togo and are demanding immediate sanctions against President Faure Gnassingbé’s government.
The organizations expressed deep disappointment with ECOWAS’s statement released on June 30, 2025, arguing that the regional bloc’s response failed to recognize the seriousness of the political, institutional, and security crisis unfolding in the country.
The crisis has been fueled by widespread protests that began in early June after Togo’s parliament adopted a controversial new constitution without a referendum.
The new charter establishes a Fifth Republic and grants sweeping powers to the President of the Council of Ministers, who would be selected by parliament and allowed to serve unlimited terms. Many Togolese citizens, particularly the youth and civil society groups, view the reform as an attempt to entrench the Gnassingbé family’s grip on power, which has lasted for 58 years.
The civil society organizations accused ECOWAS of minimizing the crisis by characterizing it merely as a matter of “social tension,” while ignoring its political roots—specifically the unilateral adoption of the new constitution.
They also condemned the bloc for failing to invoke Togo’s obligations under the regional protocol on democracy and good governance, which explicitly prohibits unconstitutional constitutional revisions.
The groups also cited the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, which calls for sanctions against unconstitutional changes of government—another legal instrument they say ECOWAS ignored.
The statement further criticized ECOWAS for merely calling for peace without demanding concrete measures to restore constitutional order.
The organizations said this stance amounts to overlooking massive human rights violations reported in Togo, including deaths, arbitrary arrests, and torture during the protests. They also condemned ECOWAS’s call for “restraint from both sides,” saying it falsely equates peaceful protesters with security forces accused of using excessive force.
The groups said ECOWAS bears partial responsibility for the current crisis, recalling that the bloc had previously mediated Togo’s 2017–2018 political crisis, which resulted in constitutional amendments limiting presidential terms to two five-year mandates—changes that could only be reversed through a referendum.
However, the same National Assembly formed through that process extended its mandate beyond constitutional limits in 2024 and later adopted the new constitution without a referendum, triggering the present wave of unrest.
According to the declaration, ECOWAS’s failure to uphold its own commitments dates back to Faure Gnassingbé’s rise to power in 2005 after the death of his father, long-time ruler Gnassingbé Eyadéma.
The organizations say this transfer of power violated Togo’s constitution and ECOWAS protocols but was nevertheless accepted by the regional bloc.
They also accused ECOWAS of validating what they described as a fraudulent election that cemented Gnassingbé’s rule and failing to enforce the political agreements reached with the Togolese opposition.
The groups warned that after decades of unmet promises, Togolese citizens have lost all trust in ECOWAS, and that any future mediation would lack legitimacy unless the bloc begins enforcing its own rules and those of the African Union.
They are demanding that ECOWAS publicly acknowledge the institutional nature of the crisis in Togo, call for a return to the constitutional order of the previous Fourth Republic, and halt the current electoral process, including local elections scheduled for later this month.
They also called on ECOWAS to send a high-level mediation team to Togo with a clear mandate to restore democratic legality and to suspend Togo from all ECOWAS decision-making bodies until its constitutional reform process complies with regional standards.
The statement concludes with a warning that the Togolese people, particularly its youth, expect ECOWAS to uphold its founding principles rather than standing by in the face of what they describe as a blatant breach of constitutional order.
It also calls on Africans across the continent to remain vigilant against the growing trend of “constitutional and electoral coups,” which they say often pave the way for military takeovers—the only unconstitutional power grabs that currently trigger sanctions under regional mechanisms.
