On 3 May 2025, Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové was elected president of the Togolese Republic. It marked the first indirect presidential elections since the amendment of the Constitution.
The Togolese presidential elections were held on 3 May 2025. Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové of the Pan African Convergence Party ,the sole candidate, was elected by the National Assembly with 150 votes for a four-year term. The elections came at a time when the West African nation is grappling with the high cost of living and recent constitutional reforms.
It was the first presidential election after the 2024 constitutional reforms. The reforms removed direct universal suffrage for the presidency, replacing it with indirect voting through representatives of the National Assembly. With the amendment, Togo transitioned from a presidential to a parliamentary system and introduced the “President of the Council of Ministers (PCM)” position. The PCM has the powers of the President and full decision-making and civil and military authority for the government, but without clear term limits.
Former president Faure Gnassingbé of the Union of the Republic (Union Pour Le République (UNIR)) party was sworn in as the President of the Council of Ministers for a 6-year term. Following the constitutional reforms, angry citizens took to the streets to protest. The opposition-led “Don’t touch my constitution" movement denounced the recent amendments as a constitutional coup and tactics to prolong the Gnassingbé Dynasty’s 57-year rule.
Women Political Participation
There were no other candidates in the 2025 presidential polls. Togo is yet to elect a female president. In 2010, however, Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson made history as Togo’s first female presidential candidate, following her party’s, the Democratic Convention of African Peoples (Convention Démocratique des Peuples Africains (CDPA)), endorsement of her candidacy after a unanimous election. Her campaign agenda reiterated the need for educated and empowered Togolese women. She, however, withdrew from the race on 15 February 2010, citing fear that the election would be rigged.
Women hold less than one-quarter of the seats in the respective chambers of the legislature. In the lower house, the National Assembly, as of 1 May 2025, women hold 17 of the 113 (15%) seats, compared to 96 seats (85%) held by men. On 15 February 2025, Togo held its first indirect senatorial elections. Women hold 15 of the 61 (24.5%) seats in the Senate, whereas men hold 46 (75.5%).
Togolese women have held notable positions at the executive and legislative levels. Victoire Tomegah Dogbé was appointed Prime Minister in 2020 by President Faure, becoming Togo’s first female prime minister. Activist Mimi Dossou encapsulated this appointment as a signal of hope to young girls to dream big. Dogbé had previously served in Faure’s government as Cabinet Director of the President and Minister of Grassroots Development, Handicrafts, Youth and Youth Employment. Dogbé was reappointed to office in 2024 after her resignation in March 2024. She led the government during the transitional period that ended with Faure's appointment in 2025.
In January 2019,Yawa Djigboi Tségan became the first president of the National Assembly in the history of the nation. She was the sole candidate and was elected under the ruling party UNIR ticket. Her election as speaker was hailed as an instrumental step in women's empowerment. She played an influential role in the adoption of the 2024 constitution, defending the reforms as a means to improve democracy.
Legislative and policy reforms on women’s rights
Togo adopted a gender quota with an ambitious target. Article 220 of the Electoral Code provides for legislated candidate quotas by mandating gender parity in all party lists. Amendments to the Electoral Code in 2024 incentivise the nomination of female candidates by halving deposit fees.
The right to equality and freedom from discrimination is embedded in Article 2 of Togo’s Constitution. Building on the rights enshrined in the Constitution, recent legislative reforms have further strengthened women’s rights and advanced gender equality. In 2022, Togo codified domestic violence as a criminal offence. Togo has also granted women equal rights to remarry as men. Amendments to the Persons and Family Code grant women a right to pursue any profession, choose where to reside in the event of disagreement and equally contribute to household leadership. Togo mandates 14 weeks of maternity leave; pregnant women employed for at least a year are eligible for full pay during the leave.
Challenges to Women's Political Participation
Togo has made notable strides in dismantling gender discrimination through legislative reforms. In the political sphere, despite mandatory quotas, women’s representation remains low, hampered by limited access to campaign financing and patriarchal party hierarchies.
The 2023 Social Institutions and Gender Index report spotlights scarcity of gender-disaggregated data at the household level, specifically in unpaid care-work and intra-household resource allocation, as barriers to a comprehensive understanding of gender inequality in the country.
Women in Togo advocating for change
Various organisations actively contribute to the advocacy for women's rights in Togo. At the legislative level, the Togolese Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC) works to strengthen cooperation and amplify women’s voices. At the governmental level, Togo’s Ministry of Solidarity, Gender, Family & Child Protection is the primary body responsible for mainstreaming gender equality across all sectors. In November 2025, the Ministry launched a national campaign to promote positive masculinity. Among its objectives, the campaign seeks to transform sustainable social norms and discriminatory behaviours that maintain inequalities and violence against women and girls.
Among the notable non-governmental organisations in Togo, the Alliance Fraternalle Aide pour le Développment (AFAD) focuses on women’s leadership and sexual and reproductive health rights. Their ‘Humanised Childbirth’ project onboards men as partners in maternal health to reduce maternal mortality and foster equitable family roles. These and other advocacy groups actively contribute to the cause for gender parity and equality in the nation.
Conclusion
In the first indirect presidential elections following the 2024 constitutional reforms, Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové was elected president. There were no other candidates. To date, Togo has not elected a woman president. In the legislature, women comprise 15% of the members in the National Assembly and 24.% in the Senate, well below the parity target set in the Electoral Code.
Despite legislative reforms, women face barriers preventing them from full and equal participation in political and public life. These include holding an unequal share of care work and household duties and limited access to financing. Togolese women, in civil and public life, continue to advocate for the advancement and strengthening of women’s empowerment and gender equality.