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President Patrice Talon’s campaign won a majority of seats in parliament, the country’s constitutional court said Thursday.
Sunday’s elections, which were held peacefully, were an important test for the small West African country, which has been chaired by Patrice Talon since 2016.
This wealthy businessman boosted Benin’s economic development, but his detractors accused him of backing down democracy, and his main opponents were imprisoned or forced into exile. .
It was the first time an opposition party had participated in an election since Talon took power.
Constitutional Court chief Razaki Amoudai Isif said the presidential party, the Republican Bloc (BR) and the Progressive Union (UP-R), won 81 of the 109 seats in Congress.
The largest opposition party, the Democratic Party, won 28 lawmakers at the end of Sunday’s elections, with a participation rate of 37.79%.
Seven political parties, including three opposition allies, were allowed to vote in the country, once seen as a model of democracy.
Under the pro-rata system, only parties with 10% or more of the votes can win seats in parliament.
Earlier Thursday, Democratic Party leader Eric Houndte dismissed the preliminary results, citing vote stuffing, manipulation and “blatant” vote-buying by two major pro-government parties, but was quick to provide evidence. I couldn’t.
“The Democrats reject these results, which do not reflect the will of the people to make us a major political force in the country,” Houndete had already declared.
Results are contestable for 10 days after the official announcement of the results.
return of the opposition
The election also marked the return of the opposition to parliament after four years of absence, as government tightened voting rules prevented them from participating in the previous parliamentary elections.
Observers from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) determined that Sunday’s vote was conducted peacefully and in accordance with the rules in force.
The last parliamentary elections held in 2019 were marked by lethal violence, record abstentions (over 70%) and a complete shutdown of the internet. This is a very rare occurrence in Benin.
A return to parliament is important for the opposition ahead of the 2026 presidential election, which will require the support of parliamentarians for candidates to be registered.
Congress also plays a role in forming the Constitutional Court, which oversees the decisions of electoral disputes. His term ends this year, with four new judges appointed by members of parliament and three elected by the president.
Democrats said they aim to pass amnesty legislation in Congress to secure the release of imprisoned party members and to allow the return of asylum seekers.
Former opposition leader Lecha Madug was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2021 on “terrorism” charges.
Another dissident, Joël Aïvo, was sentenced to 10 years in prison that same year, specifically for “conspiracy against state authority” and “money laundering.”
Both were tried by the Special Court for the Suppression of Economic Crime and Terrorism (Criet).
Critics of the jurisdiction, which was established by the government in 2016, have been used to suppress dissent.
Sunday’s parliamentary elections were held amid mounting jihadist violence near the northern borders of Burkina Faso and Niger, as well as in other Gulf of Guinea states (Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast).
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