Togo’s parliamentary election: Why all eyes are on President Gnassingbe

New changes to the constitution mean presidential polls are likely to be scrapped, leaving lawmakers as the kingmakers.

Some 4.2 million eligible Togolese voters are heading to the polls on Monday to vote in delayed and controversial parliamentary elections that are causing tensions in a West African region already plagued by instability.

Unlike in previous elections in which voters in the country of eight million people elected both legislators to the country’s parliament, as well as the president, this time around, they will only be taking part in an indirect vote that could further lock in the long, repressive rule of President Faure Gnassingbe. The changes are due to a constitutional reset that has angered some of the populace and set off protests.

Although tiny, Togo commands considerable clout as a maritime trade hub in Africa because of the Lome Port, the gateway into inland West African countries like Burkina Faso. Unrest in Togo could have ripple effects on trade across the region.

Here’s why new changes to the constitution are causing an outcry, and how these elections could be the most important for Togo in decades:

On April 20, lawmakers in a parliament dominated by the governing Union pour le Republic (UNIR) party approved changes to the constitution that dramatically altered how the country’s presidents will be elected, despite fierce outcry from opposition politicians and civil society groups who called the move a constitutional coup.