Beninese President Patrice Talon met with MP Eric Houndété, the leader of the main opposition Democrats of former President Boni Yayi on Monday.
At the end of the audience, Houndété said that the appointment of the leader of the Beninese opposition should not be delayed.
“The head of state is in a favourable position to act in accordance with the existing law so that the leader of the opposition is appointed,” he said.
The Democratic Party leader did not fail to denounce once again the law on the status of the opposition in Benin.
It is this text that gives the president the power to appoint the leader of the opposition in the Council of Ministers. For Houndété, this text poses a problem because it is not up to the president to appoint the leader of the opposition. “It will probably be a matter of correcting the law,” insisted the head of the Democratic Party.
According to the law on the status of the opposition in Benin, the leader of the opposition is the leader of the opposition party with the most members in the National Assembly. This position is held by Eric Houndété, leader of the Democratic Party. With its 28 elected members, it is the only opposition party with MPs at the end of the legislative elections on January 8, 2023.
Houndété is expected to succeed the executive secretary of the Forces Cauris pour un Bénin Emergent (FCBE) party at the head of Benin’s opposition. Paul Hounkpè was nominated because his party, which has no MPs in the National Assembly, is the only opposition party with municipal representatives.
In the report of his talks with Patrice Talon, Houndété also announced that he had raised the issue of “comrades in prison and brothers in exile” and reported that “the President replied that the judicial services were working to resolve this issue.” He also said that he had returned to Talon about the law proposed by the parliamentary opposition to grant amnesty to “political prisoners and exiles.” According to Houndété, president Talon suggested that the deputies should deal with this issue.
Houndété, who believes he was received as the leader of the opposition, said he had also asked President Talon to review the electoral code. “This law contains provisions that do not allow the opposition to have the results it needs when it goes to the polls. These are also issues that will be addressed,” said Houndété. Finally, the opposition said it was not entirely satisfied with all the answers given by President Patrice Talon. “We will continue the fight, we will continue the discussion in order to obtain total satisfaction,” he concluded.
RK/ac/lb/abj/APA