Benin since the April 28 election - Talon continues to crack down on the opposition
I spent 2 1/2 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Benin, in 1995-97, which included their 2nd democratic election, which was the 2nd election in which a challenger defeated the incumbent (in 1991 challenger Nicephore Soglo defeated incumbent Mathieu Kerekou, and in 1996, challenger Mathieu Kerekou defeated incumbent Nicephore Soglo) - so Benin is special to me, and I've always felt pride in their against-the-odds democratic quality.
The April 28 election was a betrayal of Benin's democracy. All opposition parties were disqualified; only two parties were allowed to compete, and both of those parties supported the president. This system reminds me of the National Front for the Defense of the Revolution in Madagascar's Second Republic - there were six parties in legislative elections, but in order to qualify, each party had to be loyal to the president and his policies.
What's happened since then?
The NY Times reports that former president Boni Yayi was under "virtual house arrest" for 52 days for speaking out against election rules that resulted in the banning of opposition parties. After he was released in late June he fled to neighboring Togo, which is no democratic haven itself. Protestors in Yayi's hometown, Tchaourou, protested his detention by barricading the roads for three days in early June. The military responded by sending 700 troops and forcefully clearing the roads, killing an estimated seven protestors. The military says they were fired upon by the protestors; local residents say the military used indiscriminate force. The military had also fired on protestors in Cotonou, after April's flawed election, reportedly killing four.
President Talon has demonstrated a streak of authoritarianism in a number of ways. Ten days before the April election, a journalist was arrested for allegedly spreading false information on Facebook. One of the country's most popular opposition newspapers was shut down for insulting the president. A TV channel owned by one of the president's prominent political opponents, Sebastien Ajavon, was shut down in 2016 and remained shut down despite court ruling ordering it to be reopened. Ajavon himself, after announcing plans to challenge Talon in the next election, was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison for a crime he had been acquitted of 2 years previously. Earlier this month, another of Talon's electoral rival, former prime minister Lionel Zinsou (who lost to Talon in the 2016 runoff) was banned from standing for elections for five years. While Boni Yayi seeks refuge in Togo, Ajavon and Zinsou are in exile in France.
Although Benin's judiciary exhibited admirable independence for most of the multiparty period, Talon installed his former personal lawyer and minister of justice as president of the Constitutional Court; court decisions against Talon, such as a ruling against restrictions on public sector strikes, were soon reversed. The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (based in Tanzania) condemned the decision against Ajavon and ruled Benin should revoke the sentence; Benin refused. The Constitutional Court created the means for banning opposition parties from competing against Talon-allied parties; the Court ruled that parties must acquire a "certificate of conformity" (an instrument not mentioned in any electoral law) from the government's Ministry of the Interior to qualify for the ballot.
Following April's troubled election, some members of ECOWAS have suggested a fact-finding mission to Benin to assess democratic backsliding. In May, Talon promised to work "with the country’s political class to resolve the democratic crisis" (the next day, a former legislator currently in exile called for the April election to be annulled). Talon may hope to avoid accountability in the form of withheld investment by attracting financing from China and Russia. Last year, for example, Talon asked local and French firms to withdraw in favor of China for a major train project to connect Cotonou to Niamey.
The April 28 election was a betrayal of Benin's democracy. All opposition parties were disqualified; only two parties were allowed to compete, and both of those parties supported the president. This system reminds me of the National Front for the Defense of the Revolution in Madagascar's Second Republic - there were six parties in legislative elections, but in order to qualify, each party had to be loyal to the president and his policies.
What's happened since then?
The NY Times reports that former president Boni Yayi was under "virtual house arrest" for 52 days for speaking out against election rules that resulted in the banning of opposition parties. After he was released in late June he fled to neighboring Togo, which is no democratic haven itself. Protestors in Yayi's hometown, Tchaourou, protested his detention by barricading the roads for three days in early June. The military responded by sending 700 troops and forcefully clearing the roads, killing an estimated seven protestors. The military says they were fired upon by the protestors; local residents say the military used indiscriminate force. The military had also fired on protestors in Cotonou, after April's flawed election, reportedly killing four.
President Talon has demonstrated a streak of authoritarianism in a number of ways. Ten days before the April election, a journalist was arrested for allegedly spreading false information on Facebook. One of the country's most popular opposition newspapers was shut down for insulting the president. A TV channel owned by one of the president's prominent political opponents, Sebastien Ajavon, was shut down in 2016 and remained shut down despite court ruling ordering it to be reopened. Ajavon himself, after announcing plans to challenge Talon in the next election, was sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison for a crime he had been acquitted of 2 years previously. Earlier this month, another of Talon's electoral rival, former prime minister Lionel Zinsou (who lost to Talon in the 2016 runoff) was banned from standing for elections for five years. While Boni Yayi seeks refuge in Togo, Ajavon and Zinsou are in exile in France.
Although Benin's judiciary exhibited admirable independence for most of the multiparty period, Talon installed his former personal lawyer and minister of justice as president of the Constitutional Court; court decisions against Talon, such as a ruling against restrictions on public sector strikes, were soon reversed. The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (based in Tanzania) condemned the decision against Ajavon and ruled Benin should revoke the sentence; Benin refused. The Constitutional Court created the means for banning opposition parties from competing against Talon-allied parties; the Court ruled that parties must acquire a "certificate of conformity" (an instrument not mentioned in any electoral law) from the government's Ministry of the Interior to qualify for the ballot.
Following April's troubled election, some members of ECOWAS have suggested a fact-finding mission to Benin to assess democratic backsliding. In May, Talon promised to work "with the country’s political class to resolve the democratic crisis" (the next day, a former legislator currently in exile called for the April election to be annulled). Talon may hope to avoid accountability in the form of withheld investment by attracting financing from China and Russia. Last year, for example, Talon asked local and French firms to withdraw in favor of China for a major train project to connect Cotonou to Niamey.
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