Togo votes in election that could see Gnassingbe extend rule

Polling stations have opened in Togo for a presidential election expected to extend incumbent Faure Gnassingbe's 15-year hold on power, and his family's rule of more than half a century.

Some political analysts expect Gnassingbe to win the election, which began on Saturday, outright in the first round. Many in the West African country of about eight million people say they are fed up with the dynasty of Faure Gnassingbe and his father Eyadema Gnassingbe, who seized power in a 1967 coup, and the persistent poverty during their tenures.

But the family has fended off various challenges to its rule, including protests that were met with deadly crackdowns in 2005 and 2017.

The election follows a constitutional revamp last year that limits presidents to two five-year terms. The reform was not retroactive, however, meaning the president could be in power for another decade.

"Like many Togolese, I voted for change. Here's to a new president coming to power," car mechanic Edoh Komi, 47, said after casting his vote in the seaside capital Lome.

More than 3.6 million people are registered to vote in what many hope will be a calm election.

The vote is being held against the backdrop of rising prices for basic necessities, weak health systems and an education sector in which teachers continually threaten strikes. Unemployment among young people is increasing.

Polling stations opened at 07:00 GMT and are due to close at 16:00 GMT, with provisional results expected in six days.

There were long queues outside some stations in Lome, which Gnassingbe has tried to turn into a regional transport and finance hub.