Benin: what the opposition said this Wednesday about the new electoral code

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The political parties Les Démocrates, Force Cauris for an Emerging Benin, Mouvement Populaire de Libération, Nouvelle Force Nationale, and Grande Solidarité Républicaine held a press conference on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.

The objective was to make a statement about the amendments made by the deputies to the electoral code and to invite the Constitutional Court to act wisely. The Chant d’Oiseaux in Cotonou served as the venue for this press conference.

In the statement read by the party’s communication secretary, Guy Mitokpè, the speakers called on the people to bear witness and alerted the international community to another impending fraud in Benin. This took place in front of certain members of civil society, a panel of guests, and politicians, at the Chant d’Oiseaux in Cotonou.

According to the speakers, if nothing is done, we are heading towards a second single-color legislature. To avoid internal conflict between the two siamese political parties, they have finally established a governance agreement to bring back the other party led by Bio Tchané, which is akin to a political alliance, even though it is prohibited by their own law, stated honorable Guy Dossou Mitokpè.

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“Since 2016, we have been witnessing a privatized electoral system. Elections are won before the vote even takes place,” he added. Unfortunately, “Since 2016, to achieve their malicious intent, they have decided without any scruples to always violate all the major constitutional principles in electoral matters. They are born violators,” he mentioned.

Aware of their legislative crime, they have decided to traverse mountains and valleys to try to make the public accept their fraud through costly media aggressions for taxpayers, despite the difficult and austere economic situation, he emphasized.

The opposition, through its media release, calls on the national and international public opinion and declares its determination to thwart this impending fraud.

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“We call on ECOWAS, UEMOA, the African Union, and foreign embassies to be concerned about the institutional coup d’état being prepared in Benin, as part of the 2026 elections,” he urged.