The Rally of the Togolese People (french: Rassemblement du Peuple Togolais, RPT) was the ruling
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
from 1969 to 2012. It was founded by President
Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born Étienne Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was the president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé.
Eyadéma participated i ...
, after the former's death in 2005. Faure Gnassingbé replaced the RPT with a new ruling party, the Union for the Republic (UNIR), in April 2012, dissolving the RPT.
History
The RPT was founded in late 1969, under President
Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born Étienne Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was the president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé.
Eyadéma participated i ...
. The party's first Secretary-General was
Edem Kodjo
Édouard Kodjovi "Edem" Kodjo (May 23, 1938 – April 11, 2020), was a Togolese politician and diplomat. He was Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity from 1978 to 1983; later, in Togo, he was a prominent opposition leader after t ...
. It was the only legally permitted party in the country, a role further entrenched in a new constitution adopted in the 1979 referendum. Under its provisions, the president of the party was elected to a seven-year term as president of the republic, and confirmed in office by a plebiscite.
After 22 years of single-party rule by the RPT, a National Conference was held in July–August 1991, establishing a transitional government leading to multiparty elections."Togo Leader Adds to Cabinet to End Crisis" ''The New York Times'', 2 January 1992. The RPT was legally dissolved by the National Conference on 27 August 1991. After the party was banned in November 1991 by the High Council of the Republic (the transitional parliament), a political crisis occurred in which soldiers loyal to Eyadéma, who demanded that the ban on the RPT be lifted, captured Prime Minister Joseph Kokou Koffigoh in December. Koffigoh was released after agreeing to the soldiers' demands and forming a new government that gave a RPT member secondary responsibility for military affairs (while Koffigoh himself remained Defense Minister). Eyadéma remained President throughout the crisis.
In the
parliamentary election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
held on 27 October 2002, the party won 72 out of 81 seats in the
National Assembly of Togo
The National Assembly is the unicameral legislature of Togo. It has a total of 91 members who are elected in a party list proportional representation system. Members serve five-year terms.
See also
* List of presidents of the National Assembly o ...
. Following the death of Eyadéma in February 2005, the RPT designated his son, Faure Gnassingbé, as the party's leader and its candidate in the
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
of 24 April 2005, in which he won 60.2% of the vote.
The RPT's 9th Congress was held in December 2006, and
Solitoki Esso
Solitoki Magnim Esso is a Togolese politician who has served in the government of Togo as Minister of State for Presidential Affairs since September 2013. He served in the government as Minister of Communication and Culture during the 1990s; later, ...
was elected as the party's Secretary-General for a three-year term."Togo: Ruling party ends congress, elects new secretary-general", Radio Togo, Lome (nl.newsbank.com), December 19, 2006. Previous Secretaries-General include