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Good practice Imported

Legislated Gender Parity in Candidate Lists — Togo's 2013 Electoral Code (Article 220)

Togo · Lomé · See the Togo profile · See the Lomé profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 67% 52/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Togo's 2013 Electoral Code (Article 220) requires party candidate lists to alternate equally between women and men, one of only four African quota laws set at 50%. Women's seat share rose from 16.5% (2018) to 18.6% (2024) in the National Assembly, still far short of parity.

16.5 %
Women's seats in the National Assembly (2018)
18.6 %
Women's seats in the National Assembly (2024)
21.24 %
Women's seats in the National Assembly (2026)
26.22 %
Women's seats in the Senate (2026)
13.33 %
Women in ministerial posts (2026)
Legislated Gender Parity in Candidate Lists — Togo's 2013 Electoral Code (Article 220)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
National Assembly of Togo
Period
2013–2024
Keywords
elections, political representation, legislation, gender parity

Context

Article 220 of Togo's 2013 Electoral Code requires candidate lists submitted by political parties, coalitions and independents to alternate equally between women and men -- a 50% legislative target shared by only three other African countries (Algeria, Lesotho and Senegal).

Objectives

Achieve gender parity in elected political representation through a legislated candidate-list quota.

Activities

Parties, coalitions and independents must submit gender-alternating candidate lists; a 2024 revision of the Electoral Code halved the mandatory candidacy deposit for women as a financial incentive, but the law includes no sanctions for parties that ignore the parity requirement.

Results

Women's seat share in the National Assembly rose from 16.5% (15 of 91 seats, 2018) to 18.6% (21 of 113 seats, 2024), reaching 21.24% by 2026; women held 26.22% of Senate seats but only 13.33% of ministerial posts and under 15% of municipal and regional council seats.

Conclusions

The gap between the legislated 50% target and actual outcomes shows that a parity mandate without enforcement teeth delivers steady but slow gains rather than parity itself; the 250,000 CFA franc candidacy deposit remains a barrier for many women even after the 2024 reduction.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — No government cost data published beyond the 2024 halving of the candidacy deposit fee for women.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — 13 years since enactment (2013-2026) across three electoral cycles; seat share has risen roughly 5 points but remains far short of the 50% target -- a long timeline for structural political change.
Staffing & skills
National Assembly / electoral commission (list compliance oversight), Political party candidate-selection committees

Conditions for success

  • Sanctions for parties that fail to comply with the parity requirement
  • Further reduction of financial barriers to candidacy
  • Sustained political will across electoral cycles

Common failure modes

  • No sanction exists for non-compliant parties
  • The candidacy deposit remains a barrier for women candidates despite the 2024 reduction
  • 13 years after enactment women still hold barely a fifth of Assembly seats and under 14% of ministerial posts

Where it fits

Governance type
national electoral law
Scale
national
Income level
low-income

Commonly funded by

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Data sources

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