In the spotlight: last day of presidential campaign in Benin
Audio 04:40
In a street in the 8th arrondissement of Cotonou, a poster in favor of Patrice Talon and Mariam Chabi Talata.
© RFI / Aurore Lartigue
By: Norbert Navarro
9 mins
Publicity
Last day of campaigning today before Sunday's presidential election.
The day yesterday was mourned by the armed repression of a demonstration of opponents in the center of the country.
Blood has flowed.
At least one person was shot dead and several wounded yesterday morning in Savé, central Benin, when the army intervened, including with real bullets, to disperse demonstrators protesting against the absence of the army. opposition to the presidential election this Sunday.
The Beninese newspaper
Banauto
reports the reaction to these events of the government spokesperson, who denounces "
acts of aggression
" committed by "
terrorist apprentices
", but also "
vile individuals doubtless recruited by mercenaries and stateless persons
" , he told German radio.
In the sub-regional press, on the other hand, the comments are scathing.
They are indeed from a whole different barrel.
In neighboring Burkina Faso, for example, the newspaper
Wakat
Sera
denounces "
a disproportionate response which clearly justifies the desire to stifle all freedom of expression in the former Dahomey, the former" Latin quarter of Africa "which, which became Benin, it was not so long ago yet, with Senegal, the laurels of "beacons of democracy" in Africa
.
"
In a parallel with the other election on Sunday, in Chad,
Wakat Sera
anticipates the expected re-elections of Presidents Deby and Talon, "
who have resolutely opted to triumph without glory, to want to win without danger
".
In Côte d'Ivoire, the newspaper
Afrique sur 7
relays the commentary of a Beninese political scientist stressing that, “
since the return of multiparty
politics
in 1990, this is the first time that Benin has organized a presidential election like this one: pluralist in appearance, but without choice in reality
”.
Afrique sur 7 underlines that "
the great figures of the opposition are in exile or condemned to terms of ineligibility
" and that others "
saw their candidacy rejected by the Electoral Commission".
And this site recalls that a leader of the opposition was imprisoned last month,
"
accused of having wanted to assassinate political figures."
A few days ago, a judge from a special anti-corruption court fled the country, claiming to have been pressured by the authorities to indict opponents,
”adds
Afrique sur 7
.
Anniversary of the PDCI-RDA in Ivory Coast
An anniversary today in Côte d'Ivoire, that of the PDCI-RDA, the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire, which is three quarters of a century old.
Created on April 9, 1946, the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire, a local section of the African Democratic Rally (Pdci-Rda), is 75 years old this Friday, April 9, 2021. Félix Houphouët-Boigny was its founding president.
Henri Aimé Konan Bédié is the second president.
This anniversary will take place from April 9 to 18.
In the kiosks in Abidjan, the press close to the PDCI shows off.
In the headline,
Le Nouveau Réveil
thus wonders "
how is the PDCI-RDA today at 75
" and underlines with a headline that President Bédié "
deserves to be celebrated
".
His colleagues
Le Bélier
and
Last Hour Monde
offer their readers in chorus to explain to them "
how Bédié saved the heritage of Houphouët-Boigny
".
And the newspaper
L'Héritage
ensures in front that, if this party did not exist, "
it would have to be created
"!
Return to an almost normal health life in Niger
The coronavirus pandemic appears on the way to being brought under control.
At the beginning of April, the Sahel country had recorded just under 5,000 cases of coronavirus, for only 185 deaths, the Opinion newspaper reports on the spot, describing "
an almost normal life
" in these times of coronavirus.
This French daily stresses that the first phase of the vaccination campaign, which concerns the regions of Niamey, Tahoua and Agadez, “
was launched on March 29 at the General Reference Hospital (in Niamey).
Niger has received 400,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine as part of bilateral cooperation, again points out the Opinion (...) Nearly 200,000 additional doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are expected soon as part of the Covax initiative of the World Health Organization.
By 2022, the country hopes to vaccinate 20% of the country's 23 million inhabitants, mainly the oldest
”.
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