Only two parties, both allied to President Patrice Talon, take part in the vote
28 April 2019 - 19:41A woman at a polling station during the elections for a new parliament in Cotonou, Benin, April 28 2019. Picture: YANICK FOLLY / AFPThe people of Benin voted on Sunday for a new parliament but without a single opposition candidate to choose from, as rights groups warn of a crackdown in a country once seen as a model for democracy.
The main opposition parties, unable to field candidates, have asked their supporters to boycott the polls. Even after two ex-presidents, Nicephorus Soglo and Thomas Boni Yayi, urged people to take to the streets to protest, there was little response. Talon, elected in 2016, portrays himself as a reformer and modernist. He has defended the electoral code, saying it would bring together the scores of political parties — more than 250 parties in a country of about 12-million people — into simpler blocs.
But presidential spokesperson Wilfried Houngbedji blamed the opposition for not meeting the requirements and said delaying the vote was not within the president’s power.Several international and domestic observers scrapped their missions to monitor the polls. Some warn of the risk of unrest.
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