“The PRD activists no longer feel comfortable within UP le Renouveau,” Gratien Ahouanmenou

In an interview given this Wednesday, June 4, 2025, to BIP Radio, Gratien Ahouanmenou, deputy secretary general of the PRD, revealed that the militants no longer feel comfortable within this coalition.

A letter from the Ministry of the Interior, recently addressed to the PRD, reproaches the party for continuing to use its attributes, arguing that the PRD no longer legally exists. A reading contested by the leaders of the party of Me Adrien Houngbédji, who remind that “the decisions of merger cannot lead to the dissolution of the PRD.”

“The merger with the UP didn’t work,” regrets Mr. Ahouanmenou. In light of this observation, the PRD leadership has decided to consult its base to decide on a possible formal break with the UP le Renouveau.

A decision whose outcome might be uncertain. The legal battle to prove the legal existence of the Parti du Renouveau Démocratique is not a battle easily won. The cases of the Renaissance Party of Benin (RB) of Rosine Soglo and the PSD are illustrative of the adventure Me Adrien Houngbédji wants to engage his political formation in. Even though the cases are not similar, it must be noted that the interpretation of political laws in emerging democratic countries does not generally favor those in a position of weakness.

Now, two paths are available to the leaders and militants of the Parti du Renouveau Démocratique (PRD): accept and continue their “figuring” participation within the giant baobab party or agree to politically compromise with the risk of being banned from political activity due to lack of legal existence.