Benin’s electoral commission has cleared only two candidates to contest next April’s presidential election, a decision that further strengthens the ruling coalition’s grip on power.
The April 12 poll will feature Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni widely considered the frontrunner and opposition figure Paul Hounkpe.
The main opposition party, the Democrats, was effectively shut out last month after the electoral commission (CENA) disqualified its presidential hopeful, Renaud Agbodjo, for failing to secure the required number of sponsorships.
Wadagni, 49, was nominated by the governing multi-party coalition and is seen as a close ally of outgoing President Patrice Talon, who has led the country since 2016 and is stepping down after serving the constitutionally allowed two terms.
Hounkpe, meanwhile, will run under the banner of the FCBE, a smaller opposition party that has recently entered cooperation agreements with elements of the ruling bloc.
The Democrats were also barred from participating in the upcoming January local elections after CENA rejected their candidate list, citing irregularities. The party has been beset by internal divisions, culminating in the recent resignation of six lawmakers.
President Talon last week dismissed accusations by Democrats leader and former president Thomas Yayi Boni that the opposition was being systematically excluded.
“When you choose to walk on a tightrope and you fall, you can’t start looking for scapegoats,” Talon said in a televised interview.
Opposition supporters, however, warn that the political landscape is becoming increasingly unbalanced.
“It’s sad to see a presidential election proceed in Benin without the only real opposition party,” Democrats activist Boubacar Abdoulaye told AFP. “I’m saddened for our democracy.”
