SUMMARY
Since its independence from France-administered UN trusteeship in 1960, Togo has been headed by presidents with an authoritarian style of government. Most prominently, General Gnassingbé Eyadéma ruled the country from 1967 until his death in 2005. During his ruling, several unsuccessful coup attempts took place, the most important one occurring in September 1986. Following, Eyadéma took measures to increase his personal security, while at the same time initiating reforms aimed at apparent democratisation. He legalised opposition parties and in the summer of 1991, a national conference was organised with participation of the state organs, the newly legalised opposition parties, workers, students and religious leaders. The national conference stripped President Eyadéma of all his executive power in August and installed a transitional government under Joseph Kokou Koffigoh, leader of an opposition party, as prime minister. Subsequently, a military faction attempted several times to overthrow Koffigoh and to restore Eyadémas power in the following months. In December 1991, Koffigoh was seized following an attack on his residence. Eyadémas half-brother Donou Toi Gnassingbé, the commander of the presidential guard, reportedly took part in the attack on Koffigoh. Following negotiations between Eyadéma and Koffigoh, a government of national unity was formed comprising many members of the former transitional government, but also close associates to Eyadéma. This agreement lasted until the end of 1992 when parts of the military held the parliament hostage for over 24 hours. This was followed by renewed power struggles who went on until the 1993 elections. Those were won by President Eyadéma, but criticised to be unfair and not free. Having succeeded in the power struggles of the early 1990s, President Eyadéma continued to dominate the government until his death in 2005.
He was succeeded by his son Faure Gnassingbé, who was installed as President by the Togolese army. Under international pressure, Gnassingbé organised presidential elections the same year, which he won. The results were, however, suspected of being marred by fraud and violence overshadowed the campaign period. International pressure continued, forcing Gnassingbé to agree with the main opposition parties on the modalities of the upcoming legislative elections. Those were held in October 2007 and were generally perceived as free and fair. Gnassingbé’s party Rally of the Togolese People RPT won a majority of seats and consequently a RPT dominated cabinet was formed. In March 2010, Togo again held presidential elections. While the opposition was unable to present a common candidate, Gnassingbé could count on the undivided support of his party, and was re-elected as President. However, the elections were generally seen as setback in the democratisation process because of frequent irregularities in the voting process. Even so, the international community accepted the results, arguing that the irregularities did most likely not have a decisive impact on the election result.
The Government of Togo has been involved in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.
