The Beninese opposition attacked the preliminary consequences of the legislative elections giving a large majority to the parties associated with President Patrice Talon.
The Democrats, the only one of the seven opposition groups allowed to participate, won 28 of the 109 seats against 81 for the Progressive Union for Renewal (UPR) and the Republican Bloc (BR). Some 6.6 million Beninese were called to the polls to elect the 109 members of parliament for three years.
Furthermore, the election campaign took place “in a calm and peaceful environment” and the vote was well organized, said an observation mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
However, the president of the opposition party, the Democrats, Eric Houndété, denounces an electoral charade: “These schemes have for names, the massive corruption of the voters, the exceeding of the number of voters compared to the numbers of registered, the flagrant offense of ballot box stuffing, the discrepancy between the electoral lists displayed and the attendance lists,” he said during a press conference in Cotonou, Wednesday, January 11.
The Democratic Party plans to take legal action and obtain the cancellation of this legislative election, but for several observers, it is very unlikely that the opposition will succeed in having the results of the electoral commission which is preparing to communicate the results annulled. final figures for this election next Friday.
In 2019, the opposition was unable to take part in the legislative elections due to a tightening of the voting rules. Only two formations of the presidential movement had been authorized there, giving a Parliament entirely acquired by President Talon. This election was marked by deadly violence, record abstention, and a total Internet shutdown.