Benin Opposition Wants Election Body to Resign Over Vote Crisis

BENIN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Benin’s main opposition said it wants the electoral body as well as the justice minister to resign over its exclusion from legislative elections due next month as the West African nation faces its worst political crisis since 1990.

The electoral commission has “lost all credibility” since it decided earlier this month to only allow two parties loyal to President Patrice Talon to participate in the vote, opposition spokesman Guy Mitokpe told reporters in the commercial capital, Cotonou. The Constitutional Court this week validated the commission’s decision to exclude five opposition parties.

The crisis is the biggest challenge yet to Talon, a multi-millionaire businessman who won elections in 2016. Civil-society groups say his administration is increasingly repressive, especially toward the media and political opponents. Benin was among the first African countries to introduce multiparty elections in the early 1990s after huge protests against former strongman Mathieu Kerekou, and it’s generally had smooth transitions since.

The opposition will seek mediation from the Economic Community of West African States, Mitokpe said.

Tens of thousands of people marched in support of the opposition on March 11 and several senior politicians have come forward to publicly condemn the commission’s ruling. The opposition was barred from the vote for failing to meet conditions under a new electoral code adopted in October. The electoral commission also set a threshold of 249 million CFA francs ($428,242) that parties must have to participate.

Municipal authorities in several cities prohibited fresh protests planned Friday.

Source: Bloomberg Business News