Togo decides: Opposition runs low budget campaign

The election campaign is in its full swing in Togo as the February 22 presidential election draws near.

But 7 candidates are not campaigning without the same resources.

While Faure Gnassingbé is running with much more resources, his opponents are making do with the means at hand and are counting on the support of voters.

We can count on the Togolese. That's why our campaign does not consist of huge masses.

Patrick Lawson is the Campaign Director for Jean Pierre Fabre’s Campaign.

“You know very well that the Togolese opposition and especially the ANC, we don’t have a lot of means. But in terms of human resources, we can count on the Togolese. That’s why our campaign does not consist of huge masses. It is essentially focused on door-to-door’‘, he said.

This is far below the grand campaign embarked on by the outgoing president, according to Dr. Namoin Yao-Baglo, a Lecturer and researcher at the University of Lomé.

‘‘As in all campaigns, the candidates who have more means to communicate end up flooding the cities with more posters and social networks with more relays’‘, Dr. Yao-Baglo said.

So it’s an unbalanced battle. Yet, according to a decree, the state must pay each candidate nearly 64,000 euros to conduct a campaign.

But this contribution is still to be expected even within the presidential camp, she said.