Benin: Paul Hounkpè denounces a “political truce” that he deems contrary to the democratic spirit.

During a campaign tour for the legislative and municipal elections, FCBE’s national executive secretary strongly contested the recent revision of the Constitution promulgated in December 2025 by the head of state.

At the heart of his criticism: the introduction of a “political truce” period between two electoral cycles.
For Paul Hounkpè, this innovation constitutes a break with the fundamentals of Benin’s democratic life.

He sees it as a mechanism that restricts political expression, extending beyond the partisan arena. According to him, suspending organized political activity for such a long period amounts to neutralizing public debate and depriving citizens of a space to press the government to account.

The FCBE leader considers that this truce cannot be equated with an institutional appeasement measure. He describes it instead as a legal lock, capable of silencing not only political parties, but also organizations and civil society actors.

In his view, democracy cannot be limited to election periods and cannot function under a regime of prolonged pluralism on hold.

In the same vein, Paul Hounkpè points out the imbalances introduced by the new constitutional provisions on sponsorship. The fact that the outgoing president is exempt from this requirement, while his challengers must secure the support of a significant fraction of local and national elected officials, is seen by the political leader as a distortion of electoral fairness.

Believing that these reforms fundamentally alter the rules of the democratic game, he calls for reconsideration of the text. For FCBE, such a sweeping revision should be decided by popular arbitration through a referendum.

The party also says it intends to bring this debate to Parliament to obtain corrections to what it sees as attacks on pluralism and equality among political actors if it manages to elect several MPs

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