At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Togo

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Gnassingbe EYADEMA
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Koffi SAMA
• Assembly: Togo has a unicameral the National Assembly with 81 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
• Prime Minister is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the the National Assembly 81 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Gnassingbé EYADEMA
  • Party: Rally of the Togolose People (RPT)
• Emmanuel Akitani BOB
  • Party: Parti des Forces du Changement (PFC)
• Me Yawovi AGBOYIBO
  • Party: Action Committee for Renewal (CAR)
• Dahuku PÉRÉ
  • Party: Pacte Socialiste pour le Renouveau (PSR)
• Edem KODJO
  • Party: Patriotic Pan-African Convergence (CPP)
• Nicolas LAWSON
  • Party: Independent candidate
• Léopold GNININVI*
  • Party: Democracy and Renewal (CDPA)

* Léopold GNININVI withdrew prior to the presidential election on June 1, 2003.

Last Presidential election:

• The presidential elections were last held on June 21, 1998. Gnassingbé EYADEMA won the presidency with 52.13% of the votes cast while Gilchrist OLYMPIO secured 34.12% of the votes.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 5,285,501 (July 2002 est.)
• Registered Voters: 3,233,353

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,694,866 (2002)

·         Is Togo a signatory to CEDAW: No 

·         Has Togo ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (26 September 1983)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 6 (following the 2002 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 162 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Togo a signatory to CRPD: Yes (23 September 2008)

·         Has Togo ratified CRPD: Yes (1 March 2011)

·         Population with a disability: 792,825 (est.)