As Benin prepares for its presidential election on Sunday, 12 April, the Head of the ECOWAS Observation Mission, Ghana’s former President Nana Akufo-Addo, has reiterated his appeal for a peaceful and credible process during consultations with political stakeholders, including the Constitutional Court, which has the final say in the country’s electoral matters.
At his meeting with officials of the Constitutional Court, on Thursday, 9th April, the Court’s President, Prof. Dorothée Cossi Sossa, said that while the National Electoral Commission, CENA, “is in charge of electoral operations, it is the Constitutional Court that decides the binding results of presidential election under the Benin Constitution.”
He explained that “as CENA deploys electoral officials and materials nationwide, the Constitutional Court also has its officials on the field to monitor the process, and at the end, the Commission provides provisional figures, while the Court ratifies and pronounces the final results.”
Accompanied by a delegation. including, Amb. Abdel-Fatua Musah, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, who leads the ECOWAS Commission’s technical support team to the Mission, Amb Léné Dimban, representing the ECOWAS Permanent Representative Committee, and Amb. Amadou Diongue, ECOWAS Resident Representative to Benin, the Head of Mission, encouraged the Court to ensure that the electoral process and outcome are transparent and credible.
He repeated the same appeal when the Mission met with CENA officials led by its Chairman, Dr Sacca Lafia, adding that the objective of the ECOWAS observation mission was to accompany Benin on the path of democratic consolidation and the entrenchment of good governance in the region.
The CENA chairman assured the ECOWAS delegation that the Commission had trained polling agents and distributed electoral materials to the country’s 12 Administrative Departments, ahead of the Election Day.
“I can say that we are ready for the election on Sunday,” the Chairman affirmed.
Some 7.8 million voters registered by CENA, from Benin’s estimated population of 14 million, will vote in more than 7,000 polling stations at home and in the Diaspora to elect a new leader to replace outgoing President Patrice Talon, who has been in power since 2016.
Benin Minister of Finance for 10 years, Romuald Wadagni, is the presidential candidate of the ruling Coalition, with Vice President Mariam Talata as his running mate, while Paul Hounkpè, Culture Minister under former President Yayi Boni, is the flag-bearer of the opposition Cowry Forces, with journalist Judicaël Hounwanou, as his running mate.##
