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Togo President Gnassingbé to Seek Re-Election in February Ballot

Togo President Gnassingbé to Seek Re-Election in February Ballot

(Bloomberg) --

Togo President Faure Gnassingbé will seek to extend his rule after accepting the ruling UNIR party’s request to stand in an election scheduled for Feb. 22.

“The party executive members told me me to run for this election and I accept,” Gnassingbé told reporters after a party meeting Tuesday in the capital, Lomé.

Togo President Gnassingbé to Seek Re-Election in February Ballot

Lawmakers in the West African nation last year approved reforms limiting a president to two terms in office though Gnassingbé will be allowed to run for a further two stints if he wins.

He has ruled Togo since the death in 2005 of his father Gnassingbe Eyadema, who seized power in a 1967 coup.

Read more: Togo Sets Presidential Election Date for February 22

To contact the reporter on this story: Kossi Woussou in Accra at kwoussou@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Gordon Bell at gbell16@bloomberg.net, Hilton Shone, Jacqueline Mackenzie

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