Benin Leader Says Vote Marked Reform of Failed Multiparty System

(Bloomberg) -- Benin’s elections, in which opposition parties were banned from taking part, were “the culmination of a major reform of a partisan system,” which would pave the way for necessary constitutional changes, Benin President Patrice Talon said in a televised speech late Monday.

The vote, in which only two parties loyal to Talon were allowed to take part, was part of "risky" but necessary reforms designed to ensure “economic and social progress” and “restore confidence and credibility” in the state, the 61-year-old president said. The previous party system, in place for 30 years, was "the cause of poor governance and lack of development," he said.

The West African nation inaugurated its new parliament last week following a vote that saw a turnout of just 27%, far lower than previous elections, raising questions about the legitimacy of the new National Assembly. The April 28 poll was marred by unrest, including the destruction of voting materials and clashes between opposition supporters and security forces in the capital Cotonou. Two days of protests saw at least four people killed and several injured according to human rights groups, even before the election commission announced that the Republican Bloc and the Progressive Union had roughly split the National Assembly’s 83 seats.

“This test, as much as it was rough, will have to feed the birth of a new ideal,” Talon said Monday, while regretting the loss of life and the violence used against security forces.

The domination of the two parties supporting Talon makes it much easier for the president to push through constitutional reforms. This could include a plan to limit the mandate of the head of state to a single, six-year term, a proposal introduced by Talon already in 2017. After parliament blocked the proposal, he said he might consider running for a second term in 2021.

Benin was among the first African countries to introduce multiparty elections in the early 1990s after protests against former strongman Mathieu Kerekou, and it has generally seen smooth transitions of power since. But under Talon, whose entry into politics was initially hailed as a departure from the domination of the entrenched political class, the government has clamped down on media, curbed the right to strike and used the army to quell protests. Authorities on election day blocked social media during much of the time of the vote.

To contact the reporter on this story: Virgile Ahissou in Cotonou at vahissou@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sebastian Tong at stong41@bloomberg.net, ;Andre Janse van Vuuren at ajansevanvuu@bloomberg.net, Jim Silver, Katarina Hoije

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