January legislative elections 2023 : To make the party beautiful...

For the President of the Republic, the legislative elections of 8 next january, "will be, I'm convinced, the occasion of a beautiful party at the end of which the only real winner will be, once more, The Benin ". These remarks were made on 8 December 2022 in the Parliament building in Porto Novo on the occasion of the traditional speech to the Nation. The optimism that emerges is explained by past experiences.

Indeed, the last elections, in particular the legislative 2019 and the presidential 2021, were tinged with violence leading to loss of life. Never before since the return of democracy in 1990, such events had never been recorded in Beninese political life. The disputes are largely explained by the exclusion, in 2019, of the opposition of a ballot at the end of which a parliament entirely won over to the Head of State was installed. In 2021, the president who was seeking his second term found himself facing candidates whom some considered to be stooges, the candidates who matter having been arrested.

This time, the situation is different. All registered political forces are aligned, the party claiming to be the real opposition having been saved in extremis by the Constitutional Court. In these conditions, the elections promise to be a “beautiful celebration” as before.

However, to make it a truly inclusive party, some bottlenecks still need to be removed. The first major call for mobilization since the professional elections which consecrated, there is the smooth running of the vote, counting and compiling ballots. While the elections were organized by an independent commission, this time, it is an administrative body that takes care of it. Overcoming partisan interests is therefore an exercise to be done by the members of this body to allow Beninese to regain their pride.. It is true that, for the opposition, participation in this election is already a victory in itself that deserves to be celebrated at the end of the electoral process, especially if it comes out with a significant number of elected.

In the same perspective, the head of state could release the opponents still in prison, including Joël Aïvo and Reckya Madougou, former presidential candidates, detained since 2021. Besides the prisoners, many of these political actors have had to go into exile to escape incarceration. Their return is one of the demands of the Democrats party, which particularly bears the brunt of it..

Pierre MATCHOUDO