ANALYSIS: Will legislative elections put Benin’s democracy back on track?
After a four-year absence, the Benin opposition contested January’s polls — the most inclusive since Talon became president.
Benin could be emerging from its most profound political crisis since democracy was introduced in 1990. On 8 January, generally peaceful legislative elections were held, unlike the 2019 poll when violent protests against the exclusion of the opposition led to at least four deaths. That crisis tarnished the country’s image as an example of democracy in West Africa.
Although voter turnout this month remains low (37.79 per cent), the elections are the most inclusive the country has held since Patrice Talon became president in 2016. It marks the opposition’s return to the political arena after its absence from the 2019 legislative polls. Leading opposition parties also stayed away from the 2020 communal and 2021 presidential elections.
Seven parties, including three from the opposition, participated in the January vote — the Democrats, the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin, and the Popular Liberation Movement. Only three achieved the 10 per cent threshold needed to win seats in the 109-member Parliament.
The ruling parties — the Progressive Union for Renewal (UPR) and the Republican Bloc (BR) — obtained 37.56 per cent and 29.23 per cent of the votes respectively, winning 81 seats. This gives Talon an absolute majority in Parliament to pursue his policies without significant hindrance. The Democrats came third with 24.16 per cent and 28 seats.
The Democrats — headed by former president Thomas Boni Yayi — contested the results, filing various appeals with the Constitutional Court. Among the problems they raised are massive voter corruption on election day and ballot box stuffing in favour of the two ruling parties.
Although the Constitutional Court recognised irregularities in some polling stations, it said they ‘were not such as to compromise the validity, sincerity, and transparency of the ballot,’ and rejected the Democrats’ main appeal. The party should continue to use legal channels to avoid electoral violence like that in 2019 and 2021.
