Threats to peace: Responsibility of the actors

You don't need to be a prophet to say that Benin is at risk, short term, going through a turbulent period if steps are not taken to resolve the serious differences between the parties involved in the April presidential election 2021.

The arrest, then the incarceration of Reckya Madougou reignited the tensions aroused by the invalidation of the majority of presidential candidacies. Nominated to compete on behalf of The Democrats party, Ms. Madougou was apprehended on Wednesday 3 mars 2021 at the end of the meeting organized in Porto-Novo by the opposition forces. Detention at the Economic and Financial Brigade, she was finally sent to the civil prison of Missérété. Since, the opposition parties feeling excluded from the electoral process have constantly demanded his release. On social networks, this incarceration has had the effect of exacerbating the publication of warmongering messages already present in this public space since the start of preparations for this election.

Anticipating the risks of a violent election, the international community through the United Nations and ECOWAS, sent emissaries to Cotonou to plead for peace without it being possible to say, at present, if their call has been heard. It must be said that the seeds of discord are present in the legislative texts on which the organization of this election is based.. The first bone of contention being the sponsorship system instituted by the new constitution adopted at the instigation of the current President of the Republic, also a candidate for his own succession. Technically, only the candidates from the parties supporting him could obtain sponsors but in the end, these were “graciously” offered to two other candidates among the declared twenties. A situation that the excluded are not ready to accept and which feeds the poisonous atmosphere that currently prevails in the country.

The legislative elections of 2019 ended in pitched battles between law enforcement and disgruntled protesters. All the political forces had then ended up agreeing on the fact that such a situation must not happen again.. In view of this, it seems obvious to preach restraint. The non-governmental organizations intervening on electoral issues have already sent messages in this direction and plead for more responsibility on the part of the protagonists of this conflict to come..

But beyond the calls, it is important to note that with the current level of voltage, only the peace of the brave will save Benin. Frustrated, the opposition does not have the means to propose such an outcome. It is therefore up to the government and each actor to advocate peace. As the late Ivorian president said, Félix Houphouet Boigny "Peace is not an empty word but a behavior". And to Spinoza to add "Peace is not the absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a desire for benevolence, of trust and justice”. Pierre MATCHOUDO