Benin: Toward a de facto political truce as early as 2026?
The year 2026 could mark a historic turning point for Beninese political life. Excluded from the presidential race, absent from the municipal elections and threatened with exclusion from the next legislative elections, the party Les Démocrates is going through a turbulent period that calls its very existence on the national political scene into question.
Faced with this looming void, the concept of a “political truce” advocated by Patrice Talon suddenly starts to look like a prophecy.
Whether the Constitution is revised or not, those in power are heading toward an almost monochrome political landscape.
Since it entered the National Assembly, Boni Yayi’s party has embodied the only organized opposition capable of challenging the government’s decisions. The blocking of the constitutional revision in 2024 is one illustration of that political formation.
In the authorities’ view, Benin’s development requires undisturbed national cohesion. For Patrice Talon, confrontational opposition is a luxury only developed countries can afford.
A position that directly opposes Boni Yayi’s, who favors a confrontational democracy where political debate remains an essential safeguard.
Meanwhile, the constitutional revision carried by the pro-government deputies, Aké Natondé and Assan Séibou, is moving forward. It notably proposes a Senate endowed with considerable powers, likely to strengthen control by the central authority. But paradoxically, even without this reform, a political truce already seems to be taking shape.
If Les Démocrates were to disappear or be reduced to its barest expression, Benin would slide into an era where political pluralism would be nothing but a façade. Many elected officials, deprived of prospects, would leave the party, leaving behind a handful of loyalists condemned to silence.
The political truce announced by President Talon may not need a law to impose itself. It will happen by itself, through the gradual weakening of any opposition capable of saying no.
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