Elections in Togo

Togo's electoral framework rests on the Constitution of 6 May 2024 and the Electoral Code amended in 2024. The right to vote is universal, equal and secret, with direct or indirect voting depending on the office. The CENI, the Commission électorale nationale indépendante, is a permanent, independent and autonomous body based in Lomé. Local CENI structures called CELI supervise electoral operations, with each CELI covering no more than three communes. CLC teams handle voter lists and cards, while BV polling stations conduct voting and display the local result. The Ministry responsible for territorial administration and security and communication authorities also support the process within their legal responsibilities. The President of the Republic is not chosen by a direct public vote under the current constitutional system. Parliament meets in Congress, and parliamentary groups present candidates. A candidate needs at least an absolute majority; if no candidate reaches it, further rounds take place, with a simple majority deciding after the third round. The presidential term lasts four years and may be renewed once. The President of the Conseil, who leads the government, is designated by the parliamentary majority after the final proclamation of legislative results and is sworn in before the Cour constitutionnelle. The Assemblée nationale has 113 members elected by direct secret vote through blocked lists and proportional representation. Seats use the electoral quotient and the highest-average method, and list order determines which candidates receive seats. Members serve six-year terms. The Sénat has 61 seats: 41 are elected indirectly by regional and municipal councillors in each préfecture, and 20 are appointed by the President of the Conseil. The elected seats use a one-round majority vote; the candidate with the most votes wins, and the older candidate wins a tie. Regional and municipal councils are elected directly through blocked lists and proportional systems. Regional elections use the electoral quotient and highest remainder, while municipal elections use the municipal electoral quotient and highest remainder. For legislative, regional and municipal elections, Togolese citizens of either sex can vote from age 18 if they retain their civil and political rights, are registered and are not legally incapacitated. Registration is biometric and normally takes place through a CLC. Accepted identity documents include a passport, national identity card, civil or military pension booklet, or family record book. Where these documents are unavailable, a traditional chief or notable may help establish identity. A voter may register only once and votes on the list for the place of domicile or residence. Togolese citizens abroad can apply through the CENI using consular or diplomatic evidence and register at their place of birth or in a commune of Lomé. The voter card is issued by the CLC and is required at the polling station. Permanent voter lists are revised before elections. A revised list remains valid for one year, subject to specific early or partial revisions. Lists and cards are displayed at revision and voting centres. A person removed from a list can complain to the CELI within 48 hours after publication. The procedure can continue to the CENI and then to the tribunal de première instance within short statutory deadlines. A purely material omission can be reported to the CELI president until election day. CENI receives and checks candidate files. The territorial administration conducts an administrative review within five days, and the Cour constitutionnelle or Conseil d'Etat rules on objections within 72 hours. The final candidate list is published no later than 35 days before the election. Candidates generally submit files 40 to 60 days before an individual election, subject to the Electoral Code's rules for lists. A cautionnement is paid within 48 hours after CENI acceptance; the amount is set by decree and women pay half. In the documented elections, the cautionnement was CFA 300,000 per legislative or senatorial candidate and CFA 150,000 per regional candidate, with a 50% reduction for women in the senatorial election. Public campaign funding for the 2024 legislative and regional elections totalled CFA 650,000,000, distributed partly equally and partly according to votes for lists reaching at least 10% of valid votes. The campaign legally starts 15 days before election day and ends 24 hours before voting. Campaign meetings require written notice to the préfet at least 24 hours in advance, cannot take place on public roads and are prohibited between 22:00 and 06:00. Commercial campaigning, gifts intended to influence voters and use of public resources are prohibited. Candidates and lists receive communication access under HAAC rules. National observers need CENI accreditation, while international observers require government accreditation. On election day, voters present their voter card and undergo identity and list checks before receiving a single ballot. Voting takes place secretly in a booth, with a transparent sealed ballot box and indelible ink. A voter with a physical impairment may choose one voter from the same list to assist. Proxy voting is limited to defined groups such as certain security, finance and forestry personnel, public agents absent on duty, people with justified professional or family absence, hospitalized patients, severely disabled people and polling-station members. The proxy holder must support the same list, may hold only one proxy and obtains free legalization from the CELI. Armed and security forces may vote early where the rules provide for it. Counting begins immediately after closing, publicly and without interruption. Polling-station members compare ballots with signatures, read ballots aloud, record objections and display the result. Invalid ballots include false forms, multiple choices, identifying marks, blank ballots and ballots without the required hologram. The CELI counts progressively, CENI publishes provisional national results within the legal period, and the relevant court proclaims final results. Legislative and senatorial disputes go to the Cour constitutionnelle; local-election disputes go to the Conseil d'Etat, or temporarily to the administrative chamber of the Cour suprême where applicable. Candidates and lists generally have five days after provisional proclamation to challenge results, and decisions are due within ten days. Serious irregularities that could affect the result can lead to annulment and a new election within 90 days. The latest documented reference points include the 2024 legislative election, the first indirect senatorial election on 15 February 2025 and the 2025 municipal election, whose final results were proclaimed on 6 August 2025. Future dates and procedures should be checked against the current decree and CENI communication.