In May, President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo stepped down from his post. Since then, Jean-Lucien Savi de Tove has been president — but Gnassingbe has not relinquished power.

Instead, he is now president of the Council of Ministers, a new body created following a constitutional amendment. Most of Gnassingbe's previous presidential powers have been transferred to his new position, leaving President de Tove serving as a ceremonial head of state.

The opposition and civil rights activists have called it a "constitutional coup" — because Gnassingbe's new position is not elected, but appointed by the strongest faction in parliament. Gnassingbe's UNIR party (Union for the Republic) has a comfortable majority there. There are no term limits, and Gnassingbe could rule indefinitely without ever having to stand for direct election again.

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"That is really the biggest problem because the recent riot that happened in the country was not just about the arrest of the people, it was simply because people are fed up with this family which is controlling the country for more than 50 years now," Pape Ibrahima Kane, director of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa in Dakar, told DW.

Kane said the Gnassingbe family wields control over all aspects of Togo's governance structures, including the parliament.

The Togolese government has disregarded the African Charter on........

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