Benin: Yayi Boni gives an update on his meeting with Patrice Talon
A few days after his meeting at the Palais de la Marina with President Patrice Talon, the former head of state and leader of the party Les Démocrates (LD), Boni Yayi, issued a statement in a solemn tone.
« Ne vous inquiétez pas, LD est prêt à gouverner le pays », Boni Yayi
According to him, Benin is gradually drifting away from the values that underpin democracy and the rule of law.
“From my discussion with Talon, I conclude that he is progressively abandoning the project of making Benin a rule-of-law democracy that respects fundamental rights, civil liberties and human dignity,” the former president said, visibly concerned by the course of recent political events.
Boni Yayi believes the country is going through a critical phase marked, in his words, by a blatant violation of the 1990 Constitution as well as its revised version in 2019.
He argues that the ruling power is seeking to shrink the opposition’s space in order to establish a political system dominated by a single political current.
The former president also says that attempts at destabilization are underway within his party, with pressure exerted on certain deputies and financial offers intended to weaken or eliminate Les Démocrates.
Despite this worrying assessment, Boni Yayi calls for calm and faith. He invites the people of Benin to prayer and hope, while urging the country’s key stakeholders to renew a sincere and inclusive political dialogue, which he says is the only way to put the country back on the path to democratic stability.