The opposition was able to build a popular movement to worry the regime but then was not able to capitalise on it,” opposition politician Nathaniel Olympio, who is not running in the election, told AFP.
“It shot itself in the foot.”
Parliament approved constitutional changes last May that allowed Gnassingbe to stand in this week’s vote and run for a fifth five-year term in 2025.
The president said he was focused on winning Saturday’s vote and not yet looking ahead to the next election.
“I can not tell you if I will stand in 2025, so I don’t know what will happen in 2030,” he said.
“What I can say is that I will always respect my country’s constitution.”
Gnassingbe has made security central to his message as the nation nervously eyes the jihadist violence rocking its neighbour Burkina Faso to the north.
Togo’s Israeli-trained army and intelligence service are among the most effective in the region and so far the country has not suffered any terror attacks.
The president points to the problems in Burkina Faso since Blaise Compaore’s ouster in 2014 as proof that his continued rule is vital for maintaining stability and stopping the jihadist spread.
“The threat is real and the pressure is very strong,” Gnassingbe told Knowafrika as he campaigned close to the border.
He has also made a major play of a flagship programme that aims to provide the entire population with power by 2030 and is pledging to create 500,000 jobs for the youth.
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