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Faure Gnassingbé

Faure Gnassingbé

-100

Net harmfulFormula-derived score

The through-line is a dynasty that answered 2017 term-limit protests with force, then promulgated a 2024 constitution moving real power into an indefinitely renewable Council chair — not a quiet reformer. Still in that chair at apply. The largest negative contribution to the formula-derived score is “Gnassingbé promulgates Law 2024-005 creating an indefinitely renewable Council presidency” (2024).

Top harm

Gnassingbé promulgates Law 2024-005 creating an indefinitely renewable Council presidency

−149 pts

UNIR dynastic executiveconstitutional capture of rotationsecurity-force continuity from the Eyadéma era

Impact

Biggest harms and offsets: signed contributions to the formula-derived score, ranked by size.

Biggest harms

Lowers the score
Editorial assessment (context, not the score)

The heaviest documented costs sit on two clusters, not on a personality adjective.

First, protest-cycle force. Reuters recorded the security ministry saying two protesters were killed on 19 August 2017 when forces opened fire. Amnesty recorded beatings and tear gas on 7–8 September amid an internet shutdown from 6 September, and a 9-year-old shot dead in Mango on 20 September. The minister confirmed a child’s death and blamed the opposition. Contested authorship. This page does not invent a unique integer.

Second, constitutional capture. A 2019 revision limited presidential terms to two but reset the clock. On 19 April 2024 a UNIR-dominated Assembly adopted a new constitution in second reading. On 6 May 2024 he promulgated Law 2024-005. Direct suffrage for the presidency ended. Real power moved to a Council president who is the majority-party leader for six years without a two-term cap. On 3 May 2025 the Assembly appointed him to that chair. Opposition called it a life-presidency manoeuvre.

Confidence is high on the 6 May 2024 promulgation, the 3 May 2025 appointment, and the Amnesty/Reuters 2017 locators, and medium where contested 2017 death counts sit between a ministry figure and opposition tallies. This paragraph is an assessment of those paths, not a substitute number.

Indicators affected

Sorted by the size of this person’s signed contribution. The observed state is the indicator’s own reading, not this person’s doing.

Accountability & contradictions

Claims against the record, the type of responsibility, and what is disputed.

Responsibility

What could change this assessment

  • Lifetime coverage has not been assessed: the record reflects stored facts only (2017–2025).

Causal path

Person → Fact → Driver → Indicator. Select a path to inspect its factors; the full network opens on demand.

  1. PersonFaure Gnassingbé
  2. FactGnassingbé promulgates Law 2024-005 creating an indefinitely renewable Council presidency
  3. DriverGnassingbé dynastic rule
  4. IndicatorHaving a say in government
−149 pts

Contribution size 1 · Responsibility 0.5 · Fact impact 1 · Driver weight 1 · Driver → indicator −0.8 · Indicator importance 0.8 · Deviation factor −3 · Confidence 1

  1. PersonFaure Gnassingbé
  2. FactNational Assembly appoints Gnassingbé first President of the Council of Ministers
  3. DriverGnassingbé dynastic rule
  4. IndicatorHaving a say in government
−96 pts

Contribution size 1 · Responsibility 0.5 · Fact impact 1 · Driver weight 1 · Driver → indicator −0.8 · Indicator importance 0.8 · Deviation factor −3 · Confidence 1

Timeline

The most relevant dated facts, newest first.

  1. 3 May 2025 · Gnassingbé dynastic rule

    National Assembly appoints Gnassingbé first President of the Council of Ministers
    −96 pts

  2. 6 May 2024 · Electoral Integrity and Competitiveness

    Gnassingbé promulgates Law 2024-005 creating an indefinitely renewable Council presidency
    −149 pts

  3. 6 September 2017 · Gnassingbé dynastic rule

    Internet shutdown and security-force tear gas during 6–8 September term-limit protests

  4. 19 August 2017 · Civic Space

    Security ministry says two protesters killed as forces open fire on anti-dynasty marches

Evidence & methodology

How the record is sourced and how the score is derived.

4 of 4 linked facts verified, drawing on 4 distinct sources (2017–2025).

Sources include Togo First (recording the National Assembly plenary), Library of Congress Global Legal Monitor, Amnesty International, Reuters (recording the security ministry).

Sources

  1. 1.Togo First — National Assembly appoints Faure Gnassingbé first President of the Council, 3 May 2025Togo First (recording the National Assembly plenary)
  2. 2.Library of Congress — Togo: New Constitution Promulgated (Law 2024-005, 6 May 2024)Library of Congress Global Legal Monitor
  3. 3.Amnesty International — Togo: Security forces beat, fire tear gas at peaceful protesters amid Internet shut down, 8 September 2017Amnesty International
  4. 4.Reuters — Two killed in Togo in protests against 50-year ruling dynasty, 20 August 2017 (ministry figure)Reuters (recording the security ministry)

The score is formula-derived (Factrail formula v1, version 1.0.0), not an editorial verdict. Read the methodology.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed · Sources: 4

Expert analysis

An excerpt; the full analysis opens on request.

Identity and office

Faure Gnassingbé has been President of the Council of Ministers of Togo since 3 May 2025, after the presidency from 2005. Gnassingbé Eyadéma is named as the father who died in 2005. He is not minted. Jean-Lucien Savi de Tové holds the ceremonial presidency. Faure remains the real executive.

The force file is a ministry and Amnesty product. On 19 August 2017 the security ministry said two protesters were killed and 13 wounded when forces opened fire during “50 years is too long” marches (Reuters (opens in a new tab)). Amnesty recorded beatings and tear gas on 7–8 September 2017 amid an internet shutdown from 6 September (Amnesty, 8 September 2017 (opens in a new tab)). A 9-year-old was shot dead in Mango on 20 September; Amnesty and the minister both recorded the death and disagreed on authorship. This page does not invent a unique integer.

The constitution file is official. On 19 April 2024 the Assembly adopted the new text in second reading (France 24 (opens in a new tab)). On 6 May 2024 he promulgated Law No. 2024-005 (Library of Congress (opens in a new tab)). Direct presidential suffrage ended. The Council president is the majority-party leader for six years, without a two-term cap.

On 3 May 2025 the National Assembly appointed him first President of the Council after UNIR’s 108 of 113 seats (Togo First (opens in a new tab)). Opposition called it a life-presidency manoeuvre.

Documented benefits

The offsets that a commissioned-positive portrait would lead with are real only where dated, and they are not this assignment’s through-line. A parliamentary label is not a rebate of August 2017 or of 6 May 2024.

Contributions and limits of responsibility

He commands the security vertical on the 2017 file. He promulgated 2024-005. He accepted the 3 May 2025 chair. The Assembly voted. Amnesty wrote the 2017 notes. Sharing an Assembly majority is not a reason to drop the promulgation.

Causal chain through facts

2017 force strengthens the owned dynastic-rule driver and weakens civic space. Law 2024-005 and the 3 May 2025 appointment weaken electoral integrity and transfer capacity. They do not hang on Ukraine or Soviet state-repression. Eyadéma remains a name in prose, not a minted page.

What the score does not say

This page does not promise an exact number. Direction on this chain is negative: the documented instruments close rotation inside a family file. A later genuine contest would be a different fact with a different date.

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