Togolese express support for elections, offer mixed reviews of parliament, Afrobarometer survey shows

Togolese citizens express strong support for elections and offer mixed reviews of their parliamentary representatives, according to the most recent Afrobarometer survey.

The country’s legislators on Monday adopted a new Constitution changing from a presidential to a parliamentary system, giving Parliament, rather than citizens, the power to elect the president.

Survey findings from 2022 show that most Togolese support democratic norms and practices, including elections as the best way to choose their leaders, presidential term limits, multiparty competition, and presidential accountability to Parliament.

But only about one in three citizens say they are satisfied with the way their democracy is working.

Perceptions of members of Parliament (MPs) are mixed: While a slim majority approve of their representative’s performance and think that elections ensure that MPs reflect their views, fewer than half say they trust Parliament, and very few think that MPs listen to what their constituents have to say.

Key findings

1. Large majorities of Togolese support elections as the best way to choose their leaders (74%), favor a two-term limit on presidential mandates (82%), say many political parties are needed to ensure that voters have real choices (70%), and want their president to explain to Parliament how his administration spends taxpayers’ money (67%) (Figure 1).

2. Fewer than half (48%) of citizens say Togo is “a full democracy” or “a democracy with minor problems,” and only one-third (33%) are “fairly satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the way democracy is working in their country (Figure 2).

- While more than half of citizens “approve” or “strongly approve” of the performance of their MP (55%) and think that elections work “fairly well” or “very well” to ensure that MPs reflect the views of voters (51%), only 47% say they trust Parliament “somewhat” or “a lot.” And only 15% say MPs “often” or “always” do their best to listen to what ordinary people have to say.

Afrobarometer surveys

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Nine survey rounds in up to 42 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 9 surveys (2021/2023) cover 39 countries.

Afrobarometer’s national partners conduct face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice.

The Afrobarometer team in Togo, led by the Center for Research and Opinion Polls (CROP), interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,200 adult Togolese in March 2022. A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys were conducted in Togo in 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2021.

Charts



Respondents were asked: Which of the following statements is closest to your opinion?

Statement 1: The Constitution should limit the president to serving a maximum of two terms in office.

Statement 2: There should be no constitutional limit on how long the president can serve.

(% who “agree” or “strongly agree” with Statement 1)

Statement 1: We should choose our leaders in this country through regular, open, and honest elections.

Statement 2: Since elections sometimes produce bad results, we should adopt other methods for choosing this country’s leaders.

(% who “agree” or “strongly agree” with Statement 1)

Statement 1: Political parties create division and confusion; it is therefore unnecessary to have many political parties in Togo.

Statement 2: Many political parties are needed to make sure that Togolese have real choices in who governs them.

(% who “agree” or “strongly agree” with Statement 2)

Statement 1: Parliament should ensure that the president explains to it regularly how his

government spends taxpayers’ money.

Statement 2: The president should be able to devote his full attention to developing the country rather than wasting time justifying his actions.

(% who “agree” or “agree very strongly” with Statement 1)



Respondents were asked:

In your opinion, how much of a democracy is Togo today?

Overall, how satisfied are you with the way democracy works in Togo?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way that the following people have performed their jobs over the past 12 months, or haven’t you heard enough about them to say: Your member of Parliament?

Thinking about how elections work in practice in this country, how well do elections ensure that representatives to Parliament reflect the views of voters?

How much do you trust each of the following, or haven’t you heard enough about them to say: Parliament?

How much of the time do you think the following try their best to listen to what ordinary people have to say: Members of Parliament?