The Constitutional Court of Benin has rejected this past Saturday the petition filed by the opposition party Democrats to obtain the record of the legislative elections held last January 8 with a view to its possible challenge, given the doubts of the formation on the legality of the same despite the good result harvested after three years of absence from the polls.
The party of former President Thomas Boni Yayi was the third most voted party, obtaining 24 percent of the ballots, which translates into 28 of the 109 seats in the Beninese Parliament. However, opponents suspect that their result does not correspond to reality, as explained by the party to the Beninweb portal.
That is why the party requested last Thursday the high court to expressly order the delivery of copies of the minutes of the elections; a request rejected by the court on the understanding that the minutes of the elections are not essential to prepare any appeal that the opponents want to present.
Likewise, the Constitutional Court does not see any evidence in the accusations of Los Demócratas about a possible impediment to the access to these documents.
One of the party’s vice-presidents, Alassane Tigri, lamented to Radio France Internationale (RFI) the Constitutional Court’s decision as «a lost opportunity to demonstrate the transparency» of an election marked by the great victory of the Progressive Union for Renewal (UPR) of President Patrice Talon.
The UPR is thus propelled in an election understood as a test of popularity three years before the presidential elections; an election in which Talon will be obliged to hand over power after having completed the maximum number of constitutional mandates.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
