Elections in Benin hold lessons for Nigeria, argues VICTOR C. ARIOLE
Transition with ease or uneventful – as medics say about no-problem birth – was expected; though civil society is doubting the number pronounced by the Constitutional Court as confirmation of what their Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) presented, the election and the electoral process remain peaceful and non-rancorous. In 2021 the turnout was undisputably recorded as 50.17% which gave room to validate the election because their law says that less than 50% turn out automatically invalidates the election. Civil society, as reported, claims a turnout of 36.74%. However, CENI claims a conflicting figure that looks like error of conversion, 58.755% or 68.57%. Whatever be the case, it is like a plebiscite – Yes for the outgoing President (Talon) candidate and, No for past President Yayi Boni’s candidate – with resounding 94% votes of yes for Talon’s candidate. Like most Francophone African countries, it sounds always like a plebiscite, either one man, the incumbent, against other candidates; or mere boycott, leaving the electorate turnout to be less than 50%. Deliberate conversion or reversal error always make it a 50%+ turnout.
Among the Francophone Africa, Benin Republic had fared better than others in democratic governance. Besides the times of Dahomey of post-independence when Brigadier Christophe Soglo took over power in 1963 and 1965 to arrest internal squabbles between presidential candidates of Apithy Sourou Migan and Hubert Maga, the presence of, initially, Major Mathieu Kerekou in 1972 (26th October), turning Dahomey to People’s Republic of Benin, and later as General, remaking it as Republic of Benin, there was a semblance of steady and stable governance. Somehow, in 1991, after National Conference, elections were held and Nicephore Soglo became the president defeating Mathieu Kerekou – still a peaceful transition notwithstanding Kerekou’s incumbency factor. In effect since 1972, all coups d’état attempts had been foiled as, initially, Kerekou had the support of China and Russia, sidelining France but not making France an outcast like current “Association des Etats de Sahel” (AES) of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali are doing. Just to emphasize that both Benin and Togo had once sidelined France but not declaring it an outcast. President Etienne Gyasingbe Eyadema once claimed that France wanted to assassinate him so as to have exclusive right to phosphorous mining.
Sovereign National Conference was the in-thing at the time supported by France to usher in transition. It was unacceptable to many a sit-tight ruler. Kerekou allowed the convening of National Conference which allowed multi-party system that saw the emergence of Nicephore Dieudonné Soglo as elected President in 1991. After Soglo’s first tenure of five years, the same Kerekou came back to defeat him in a run-off as an Independent Candidate.
In March 2016, in a run-off, Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon defeated the candidate of both Soglo and Thomas Yayi Boni. Leonel Zinsou, the prime minister of “The Demcorats” a party of Boni was defeated by an Independent Candidate, Talon. Currently, the in-coming President, a candidate of Talon, Ramuald Wadagni, still remains an Independent Candidate. Talon is affiliated to no party but his money and personality have made the two main parties adopt him.
What seems to be the outlook of the Beninois or Beninese presidential democracy is the consistent acceptance of Independent Candidacy.
According to their law, to present yourself as an independent candidate you must secure the sponsorship of 20% of the Mayors or/and members of their Unicameral legislator – 109 of them. It must also be across 35% of the electoral constituencies, and you must be between the ages of 40 and 70 years. Payment of 250 million CFA (about $450,000) must be deposited. Quite big for small Republic of Benin. Somehow, it gives room to personality worship.
The fact that the sponsors of the independent candidate can come from any party affirms that personality cult remains important in Benin Republic. Again, the huge amount to be paid, is like outsourcing governance to the highest bidder. Benin Republic is financially monitored by Banque Central des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO) with headquarter in Dakar; and to be able to afford such amount your source of income is well known. It is not like Nigeria, where Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) could operate as just an entity in Nigeria owned by Nigeria. Talon and his protégé, Ramuald, to provide such amount, BCEAO must be very much aware of its source. This is where Francophone Africa shows some relative financial discipline which the Anglophone Africa seems not to have. You could say they are controlled by France but it is also as check that is very much necessary to avoid profligacy and greed of politicians as seen among the Anglophone Africa. For example their member of Parliament earns 4 million CFA per month (about $7,500) and they are 109 members for 17 million Beninois population. Based on Beninois per capita GDP that is $1800, that is about $150 per month, creating a disparity or dispersion of about $7,350 as against Nigeria’s per capita GDP of $1000, and Senator’s earning of about 13.5 million in 2018 (when naira was below N500 to dollar according to Shehu Sani, a former Senator). In effect as at today, it is alleged to be about N30 million, about $20,000. Benin politicians monitored by BCEAO are over 1000 times more humane than Nigerian politicians as CBN closes its eyes in monitoring inflation, and excess liquidity created by obtrusive and over bloated politicians and political activities.
Benin Republic has some good lessons to teach Nigerians and their politicians. The institution of a Constitutional Court that validates or rejects the elections conducted by their own INEC, CENI. Once validated or rejected, winners emerge or elections are repeated respectively. No court of Appeal, No Supreme Court litigations like in Nigeria.
The only doubt noticed by civil society is the acclaimed percentage of turn out. It is indeed doubtful that about 17 million inhabitants in Benin Republic could produce about 8 million eligible voters and that 4 million could turn out on Election Day. Indeed, whether by manual counting or by computer process, the man or woman who was able to pay about half a million dollar could by collusion or commission sway 109 representatives to be on their side with their supporters. The only good thing is that Benin Republic since Kerekou has always had peaceful transition bereft of sit-tight rulers like seen in Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Congo Democratic Republic, Rwanda, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Burundi, and others.
Ariole is a
Professor of French and Francophone Studies,
University of Lagos
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