The Benin are called to the polls this Sunday, April 11, at the end of a campaign marked by deadly violence in the center and north of the country. The economic capital was saved by the deadly violence that punctured the end of the election campaign in central and northern Benin.
From our special correspondent in Cotonou,
The campaign posters featuring Patrice Talon and his two opponents have disappeared from the streets of Cotonou, as required by law at the end of the election campaign. In front of Friendship Stadium, in the Kouhounon district, a truck spits out its sound system to gather passers-by and other street vendors. Two local associations came to convey their message: “We urge all Beniners to go and vote in peace and quiet,” said Martin Assogba, president of the NGO Alcrer (Association for the Fight Against Racism, Ethnocentrism and Racism).
“Benin is a land of peace, we do not need it”
Tensions have escalated in recent days as the presidential election approaches. The election campaign was filled with violence in the northern and central part of the country. The soldiers fired live ammunition at sometimes armed protesters who had set up barricades. In Cotonou, kept away from the unrest, if some refuse to take part in elections they consider locked, most Beniners assured that they will fulfill their “civic duty” by voting on Sunday.
“We are silent here. Tomorrow I will go out, I will go to church, do what I have to do and vote, of course, says Freedorse behind his mobile money transfer stand. She called her family from Banté, where problems were still reported on Saturday: everything is fine, “they have nothing, thank goodness”. His only wish: that the violence should end. “If people do not want to vote, let them stay at home, irritate the young woman. Benin is a land of peace, we do not need that, we just want to be able to make our money.”
Outgoing President Patrice Talon is running for a second term but has only two candidates, Alassane Soumanou and Corentin Kohoué, whom his opponents qualify as “assertive”. The largest opposition figures could not present themselves. They condemn a deadlock while NGOs and observers are concernedan authoritarian drive for power. In the absence of any real contribution to the election result, turnout will be examined separately on Sunday.
Could violence also erupt in the economic capital, which houses the presidential palace? They do not believe in it. “If things go badly, we will stay with us, but I’m not afraid that there will be violence here,” sweeps a Beninese artist who prefers not to give his identity. “If we manage the election as such, because there is no real tension, I do not think there will be any disputes,” Christian said in front of his plate of ground jam with peanut sauce. He does not support the intervention of the army, which has made at least two people in the region of Savè, but for him, in this context, “the state must claim its authority, otherwise people will not be able to vote due to blockades and it will be complaint. “
“The climate is really awful”
While his friend minimizes the choice will go smoothly, Raymond, a Beninese living in Congo-Brazzaville, rejected him. In Cotonou, he is worried and fears that he will have a hard time leaving. “I watched TV, I can assure you it’s really scary.”
“The climate is really awful,” confirms a professor in a letter who prefers to remain anonymous, sitting in a sports betting café. He regrets that his country “has come to such an end” while “the tradition in the sub-region is that the election period is a celebration. This time it was not a party. These are the cracking balls,” he laments. A climate of fear that does not “Many Beninis are afraid to speak,” he assures us, “if the situation does not improve, he fears the country will be torn apart.” I am afraid we will end up in the gap between southern Benin and northern Benin. that Benin should be united. ”Like many here, he urges politicians to engage in dialogue to ease tensions.
The Platform of Civilian Actors of Benin (PASCIB) held a press conference on Saturday. Referring to a “harmful electoral climate”, she said she feared “that elections will not be held in certain regions” due to the blockage of the channels which in some places hindereddelivery of voting rightsand “the excessive deployment of defense and security forces”. On Saturday, some soldiers were visible on some streets in central Cotonou.
.
