Gnassingbe elected Togo's President a fourth time

For 15 years in a row, Faure Gnassingbe has held on to power in Togo. This is no different now that the national electoral commission has declared him winner in the Presidential elections for a fourth term.

The incumbent leader took 72% of the vote share in the first round of the presidential election, the commission said, far ahead of former prime minister Agbeyome Kodjo, with 18%.

Gnassingbe has led the country of eight million people since taking over in 2005 following the death of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled with an iron fist for 38 years.

In May, he oversaw an overhaul of the constitution that allowed him to run this year and potentially remain in office until 2030.

Hours before the official results were announced, Kodjo, who was prime minister under Gnassingbe's father, had declared his own victory as "democratically elected president" with between 57 and 61 percent of the vote.

He promised to form his own "inclusive government in the coming days", accusing authorities of using ballot stuffing and fake polling stations to skew the results in the incumbent's favour, according to France 24.