Benin’s President Patrice Talon this week held his first talks with predecessor and rival Thomas Boni Yayi for two years, but opposition parties condemned the lack of progress on freeing jailed colleagues.
Critics say Benin’s once thriving multi-party democracy has eroded under Talon, with most of the country’s major opposition leaders in exile, investigated, barred from running for office or in prison.
Talon, a cotton tycoon first elected in 2016, last met with former ally turned rival Yayi in 2021, in what was seen as a reconciliation effort with Yayi’s main opposition Democrats party.
On Monday evening, Talon met Yayi again. He agreed to an opposition call for an audit of the electoral lists but did not discuss a pardon for jailed opposition leaders or those in exile.
“It is good to have progress on the electoral question but the great disappointment remains Talon’s position on the fate of exiles and political detainees,” said Judes Akodande, a Democrats member.
The Democrats party, founded by Yayi, is the only opposition party with lawmakers in parliament.
According to Talon’s office, the president said he was open to an audit of the country’s civil registry and electoral lists.
“You can count on my commitment so that the elections do not exclude anyone,” the president said after the meeting, according to state media.
Opposition parties have sought, without success, to push through parliament a law that would give amnesty jailed members and clear the way for those living in exile to return.
But Democrats said Monday’s meeting with Talon did not discuss Reckya Madougou — a chief opposition leader who was sentenced in 2021 to 20 years on charges of “complicity in terrorist acts”.
“We note with great sadness his refusal to listen to our cries from the heart in relation to Madougou, for whom he shows inflexibility in refusing to grant a pardon,” said Eric Houndete, another Democrats representative.
Critics say the Economic Crime and Terrorism Court, or CRIET, where she was tried, has been used by Talon’s regime to crack down on the opposition and pushed Benin closer to authoritarianism.
Madougou was one of several Benin opposition leaders banned from running in a presidential election in 2021, in which Talon won a second term with 86 percent of the vote.
Government officials dismiss claims of political interference and say Benin’s judiciary is independent.
But Madougou’s lawyers called her sentence a “political attack”.
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