As tensions rise ahead of the February 22 Togo election, the country’s National Elections Commission has announced its decision to revoke a major independent observer group’s accreditation to monitor the polls, raising concerns about the chances of a fair and credible election.

Just days before Togolese voters head to the polls on Saturday, the election commission in a letter dated February 17 and posted on Twitter by civil rights group, Togo Civil League, said that it had cancelled the accreditation of the National Consultation of Civil Society of Togo, barring it from fielding its 500 election observers nationwide, accusing the group of “preparing to carry out interference” during the election.

This announcement comes after the Commission announced that it has blocked Catholic Church monitors from observing the election. This decision raised eyebrows about the election’s credibility as the Catholic Church and its Bishop have been long-standing critics of President Faure Gnassingbé’s government.

Deepening doubts in the legitimacy of the upcoming elections, AfricanCenter revealed that a majority of the institutions set in place to organise, administer and secure voting in the Togo election are under the thumb of the ruling party, Union for the Republic (UNIR). As the report points out, of the 19 members of the National Electoral Commission (CENI), only 2 are from the opposition, with local electoral commissions mandated to gather results to be forwarded to CENI, run by judges selected by the ruling party.

With protests still ongoing, incumbent President Faure Gnassingbé, who intends to extend his family’s decade-long rule since taking office in 2005 after the death of his father, Eyadema Gnassingbé, who served for 38 years, pushed through constitutional changes in May 2019, allowing him to run this year and potentially hold office until 2030. The new amendment caps the presidential mandate to five terms as opposed to three but, if used, it will not take into account Gnassingbé’s previous terms.