Togo president keeps PM, promises new government

Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe gives an interview during a meeting to discuss the 20th replenishment of the World Bank's International Development Association, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast July 15, 2021. REUTERS/Luc Gnago

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Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe has retained Victoire Sidemeho Tomegah-Dogbe as prime minister and a government will be formed in the coming days in line with a new constitution, the presidency said on Thursday.

The new charter, adopted in March, has stoked tensions in the coastal West African nation with some opposition and civil society groups condemning what they say is Gnassingbe's bid to extend his 19-year rule longer than previously expected.

Tomegah-Dogbe, who has served as Togo's first female prime minister since 2020, is a member of the ruling Union for the Republic party that won a sweeping majority in an April legislative election that was delayed twice due to the wrangling over the constitution.

Togo has seen years of resistance to the Gnassingbe family's rule. The president was first elected in 2005 to succeed his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who took office after a coup in 1967.

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Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé

Togo