Presidential election in Benin: a first round without much enthusiasm
The count in a polling station in the commune of Cadjehoun in Cotonou, this Sunday, April 11, 2021. © Aurore Lartigue / RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Nearly 5 million voters were called to the polls this Sunday, April 11 in Benin, for a presidential election opposing President Patrice Talon to Alassane Soumanou Djimba and Corentin Kohoué.
Polling stations closed at 4 p.m. local time after a low turnout.
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At the polling station number 5, in the EPP of Cadjehoun, the counting operations did not attract many people.
Only a few people approached the windows of this classroom to attend, says our special correspondent in Cotonou,
Magali Lagrange
.
The count is however public.
The atmosphere was quite different during the last presidential election, remembers a young man.
Five years ago, people were shouting and defending their candidate.
According to him, this lack of enthusiasm is due to the presence of a heavyweight among the candidates and because the outcome of the vote is little doubt in the absence of major opposition figures.
Others believe voters were scared because of the context in which the election was held.
The crowd is not there for the presidential election in Benin.
Here in Cotonou.
@RFI pic.twitter.com/rkMthj86eX
- Aurore Lartigue (@aurorelartigue) April 11, 2021
In addition to the members of the polling station and the citizens present during the count, two representatives of the Talon-Talata duo were there.
The other two candidates, however, were not represented.
Of the 438 voters registered in this Cadjehoun polling station, 101 slipped the single ballot into the ballot box.
And of that hundred, 18 were zero.
The attendance was low all day in the offices in Cotonou.
No line of voters formed.
Protests and call for boycott
The end of the electoral campaign was marked by protests against the president as well as this election considered not very inclusive.
In a message on Facebook, the opponent Jean-Noël Ahivo, who saw his presidential candidacy rejected, for example affirmed that he would not vote and encouraged his fellow citizens to do the same.
After voting this morning, President Talon spoke for the first time on the violence that erupted in the center of the country in the last days of the electoral campaign and which left
two dead in Savè
, in the center of the country .
He believes that the police have handled the situation well with "
manipulated young people
".
He also indicates that police officers were injured.
He then said that it was necessary to "
heal the wounds and make sure that it never happens again
".
► To read also: Presidential election in Benin: return to a calm vote with a timid participation
Savè, ghost town
Savè spent an election Sunday looking like a dead day.
Even at the closing time of the polling stations, the rebellious city was paralyzed.
The traffic was almost nil.
Markets and shops were still closed, describes our special
correspondent
,
Jean-Luc Aplogan
.
A few reckless people gathered in front of their homes or at motorcycle-taxi stations.
The population is afraid.
She is suspicious and worried.
In the city center this Sunday, young anti-power gave voters no chance to go and vote.
They prevented several installation of electoral material.
They also threatened and turned back election officials.
Ballot boxes were set on fire in a polling station.
Some offices had to be moved near a police station, allowing a few voters to vote.
At the close and as a precaution, the ballot boxes were gathered in the courtyard of this police station.
There were only about ten, while Savè has about sixty polling stations.
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Benign
Patrice Talon