Togo cabinet passes draft bill to limit presidential terms

President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe of Togo addresses attendees during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 30, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Togo’s cabinet has adopted a draft bill to modify the constitution and reintroduce presidential term limits, the government said in a statement on Wednesday as hundreds of protesters gathered on the streets of the capital Lome.

“This bill to modify the constitution concerns specifically the limitations of mandates and voting procedures,” said the government statement, referring to article 59 of the constitution.

The West African country’s President Faure Gnassingbe has ruled since his father died in 2005 after 38 years in power.