In Togo, the new National Assembly is in place. The deputies sat for the first time this Tuesday, May 21, in a legal session for the new legislature. A new Parliament which is being established in a political context marked by contested electoral results and a controversial change to the Constitution. In the hemicycle this Tuesday, 107 deputies out of 113 were present.
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With our correspondent in Lomé, Peter Sassou Dogbé
Two out of five opposition seats were empty, notably that of the National Alliance for Change and that of the Democratic Forces for the Republic.
Aimé Tchabouré Gogué, oldest member and opponent, inaugurated this first session by calling for respect for diversity: “ We hope that this legislature will work in harmony, even if we have a very small minority, with a very large majority, we hope that we will get along, that we will listen to each other, to work for the well-being of all the Togolese “.
“ We will do what the Togolese people want »
Barely 5% for the opposition, but Princess Kayi Lawson, MP for the UNIR majority, does not minimize its importance: “ In the National Assembly, we will do what the Togolese people want and we will all be together to build Togo together, hand in hand, whether it is the opposition, or the parliamentary majority, which is overwhelming. “.
For Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson, this change of Constitution passed with forceps is not yet settled. “ OUR Assembly must make it possible to resolve the problem of the Constitution which was adopted without the participation of the Togolese “, she says.
This Fifth Republic, with these new institutions, will be put in place within twelve months. The Senate will be established, for the first time, this year.