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A second person has died after troops opened fire with live ammunition to disperse a protest in central Benin just days before President Patrice Talon’s re-election, a local official said on Friday.
Talon, a cotton mogul first elected in 2016, is expected to easily win Sunday’s poll with most of his main opponents exiled or disqualified, but protests have erupted in opposition strongholds in the center and north from the country.
On Thursday, soldiers fired tear gas and live ammunition into the air to disperse protesters who had blocked a major highway in the central town of Save.
Authorities reported that at least one person was killed and at least five gunshot wounds.
“One of the gunshot wounds died this morning. The toll is now two dead and five wounded,” Save mayor Denis Oba Chabi told AFP.
“The situation is calm and the young people have not erected any new barricades, and after the negotiations the soldiers have returned to the barracks.”
Benign. By (AFP) Benin has long been hailed as a thriving multi-party democracy in an often troubled West Africa, but critics say Talon has driven the country into authoritarianism with constant repression from its opponents.
Most are in exile, have been disqualified by electoral reforms or targeted for investigation by a special tribunal, according to critics Talon has used as a political tool.
A government spokesman, Alain Orounla, said Thursday that the security forces were attacked by young “drugged and armed” and reacted when they came under fire.
“It is the constitutional right of our people to demonstrate in the streets, to express themselves and to be heard,” said opposition leader Joel Aivo, one of those who were not eligible. in the elections.
The regional bloc of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemned “peaceful demonstrations which have gradually turned to violence in several cities of the country”.
On Friday, the US State Department also called on all residents of Benin to remain peaceful.
“We urge all parties to peacefully express their views,” spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “We urge the electoral institutions and courts that oversee these processes and verify these results to ensure that these elections are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner.”
Talon faces two little-known rivals – Alassane Soumanou and Corentin Kohoue.
An opposition leader, Reckya Madougou, was arrested last month on charges of conspiring to disrupt the elections through terrorism, a charge his lawyer says is fabricated.
A judge from the special tribunal set up by Talon also fled the country this week after denouncing political pressure to deliver rulings against opponents, including the decision to detain Madougou.
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