Suspension Of Foreign Journalists In Togo Lifted

Suspension Of Foreign Journalists In Togo Lifted....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Togo authorities have announced the end of a suspension on accreditations for foreign journalists, originally imposed in April following a controversial constitutional reform. The High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) had suspended these accreditations ahead of legislative elections, during which President Faure Gnassingbe’s ruling party secured an overwhelming majority.

The HAAC cited “serious failures” in the coverage of Togo’s political affairs by French media and issues involving a French journalist expelled from the country as reasons for the suspension. In a statement released late Friday, HAAC declared, “The suspension of accreditation for foreign press organizations to cover news and demonstrations in Togo is lifted as of Wednesday, June 26.”

The suspension had drawn criticism from Reporters Without Borders, who condemned it as a violation of freedom of information. The legislative elections saw Gnassingbe’s Union for the Republic (UNIR) party secure 108 out of 113 parliament seats. Under the constitutional reform, the presidency will become largely ceremonial, with executive power shifting to a new position of president of the council of ministers, automatically held by the leader of the ruling party—currently Gnassingbe as UNIR leader. Critics have labeled the reform as an “institutional coup” designed to allow Gnassingbe to evade presidential term limits.