Diaspora participation in governance bodies: The Beninese paradox

As they participate in the election of the President of the Republic, Beninese abroad are, to date excluded from the legislative elections, which among other things does not allow them to have representatives in Parliament.

Choosing their president is now an acquired right for Beninese living outside their country. And, for the presidential election of 2021, they were able to vote in six countries, namely Côte d'Ivoire, nigeria, the Congo, Senegal and Gabon in France, France and the United States. This is little, but it is already a great step forward given the leading role played by a head of state.

However, this progress is tarnished by the fact that these compatriots of the diaspora are kept away from the legislative election and this, since the National Conference of 1990. Several steps have been taken in this direction but to date, nothing is yet decided on the side of the authorities living in the country.

One of the last lobbying attempts took place on 13 December 2022. A delegation from the High Commission for Beninese Abroad then went to the office of the President of the National Assembly to plead in favor of the participation of their members in the legislative elections.. "We asked the authority to see to what extent we can insert the full participation of Beninese from outside in the electoral code", had revealed Maxime Vignon who led the delegation. And according to him, the President of the National Assembly would have reassured that a “step has already been taken in this direction”.

Does the “approach” consist in simply granting the right to Beninese from outside to vote or rather in allowing them to have seats in Parliament? ? Nothing is definite yet. More, to be able to elect their own deputies the compatriots from outside will not be able to validly make their contribution to the construction of democracy.

Several countries have amended their constitutions to this effect.. This is the case of Senegal where, since 2017, Senegalese in the diaspora have 15 deputies divided into 8 electoral districts, all located abroad. Out of Africa, French people living outside their country are grouped into eleven (11) constituencies, which allows them to elect as many deputies who play the same roles as their interior counterparts.

If the vote of Beninese abroad requires a reorganization of the electoral law as well as significant financial means, on the other hand, it makes it possible to boost the participation of the latter in the animation of political life. Steeped in the experience of their adopted countries, they sometimes have keys to problems that undermine development and whose resolution does not always require financial resources. Beyond, these compatriots inject large sums of money into the local economy, often through small transfers of money to their families and friends. In Senegal, for example, the contribution of the diaspora to the national economy is estimated at more than 900 billion CFA francs, i.e. almost a third of the State budget.

Pierre MATCHOUDO