Togo's electoral commission says the country's president has easily won a fourth term, extending the grip his family has had on power since 1967.
The commission announced overnight Sunday that President Faure Gnassingbe received 72% of the votes in preliminary results.
Shortly before Saturday's vote, the West African nation expelled a major U.S.-based election observer and decided against using an electronic vote-counting system. In both cases, the electoral commission said it feared disruption, while critics objected.
The head of the electoral commission Tchambakou Ayassor, second from right, announces the result of the presidential elections in Lome, Togo Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Togo's electoral commission says the country's President Faure Gnassingbe has easily won a fourth term, extending the grip his family has had on power since 1967. (Photo Sunday Alamba)
The commission said the election results will be handed to Togo's constitutional court for the final, official announcement.
Opposition candidate Agbeyome Kodjo was second with 18% of the vote, with Jean-Pierre Fabre third with 4%.