Benin: Éric Houndété explains why he remains the LD party’s interim president.

According to Éric Houndété, the National Council was marked by internal tensions, with, he says, “mood swings” caused by the rising emotions among some comrades. He asserts that, for some participants, reason yielded to emotional reactions, fueled, in his words, by unseen hands.

“There were some who were manipulated, mandated by shadowy people,” he says, while estimating that these emotions will eventually subside.

The vice-president recalls that Les Démocrates remain, according to him, “a party of responsible people, bearing ideals and hope for our compatriots.” It is in this spirit that he explains having convened and led the work of the National Council in his capacity as interim president. In this regard, he says he insisted firmly on strict compliance with the texts that the party has set for itself.

Éric Houndété underscores that these texts clearly define the attitudes to adopt and the procedures to follow, notably in matters of disciplinary sanctions. “When we want to sanction comrades, it must be done in accordance with the party’s statutes and internal regulations,” he notes, adding that he personally insisted that these provisions be respected.

He nevertheless states that certain participants, pursuing, in his view, “an agenda different from that of the party militants” and acting under the influence “of shadowy actors,” tried to circumvent these rules to impose, through heavy-handed tactics, the nomination of certain individuals.

Facing the disturbances observed in the room, Éric Houndété says he decided to adjourn the session, feeling he could not condone such a violation of internal procedures. After the adjournment, he notes that initiatives were taken outside the framework of the officially suspended proceedings.

It is in this context, he explains, that announcements circulating about the election of a new president appeared. He rejects this move unambiguously. Éric Houndété thus reiterates that no new president has been validly elected and assures the militants that the election of the party president will take place “in due time and in accordance with the texts.” He confirms, accordingly, that he remains interim president until the completion of a regular and statutory process.