Benin Pushes on With Legislative Vote Despite Public Outcry
- West African nation holds vote Sunday without the opposition
- Two former presidents slammed vote as undermining democracy
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Benin holds legislative elections on Sunday in which not a single opposition party is allowed to run, prompting even President Patrice Talon to admit the vote undermines the country’s democracy.
The small West African nation faces its worst political crisis in almost two decades since the electoral commission in March blocked five opposition parties on technical grounds. The only two parties allowed to participate are loyal to Talon, a 60-year-old wealthy businessman who was elected in 2016. Two former presidents have called for the vote to be suspended amid an outcry from opposition supporters and civil-society groups over the government’s increasingly authoritarian stance.