The Constitutional Court of Benin validated this Thursday, March 14, the electoral code modified on March 5, 2024 by the deputies of the Talon camp. This code was immediately attacked before the highest court of the State. More than a dozen appeals were addressed to the judge for the constitutionality of the law by the opposition and a group of five jurists.
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With our correspondent in Cotonou, Jean-Luc Aplogan
“ The voted code is consistent with the Constitution in all its provisions » ruled on Thursday the wise men of the Constitutional Court of Benign. To which Eric Houndété of the Les Démocrates party reacted immediately. “ The decision is fraudulent, it’s not worthy, it’s a shame. They did not read the text. They hastened to prove their sponsor right […] It’s the code of shame. »
Wilfried Houngbedji, government spokesperson present at the hearing, responded that “ the law was stated in a public and contradictory manner, the procedure in complete transparency, in complete regularity. The attitude of the democrat is to take note. »
The Constitutional Court in a judgment of around twenty pages argues its rejections. The wise believe that the freedom of sponsorships is not removed and that the eligibility threshold does not violate any provision. The same goes for the creation of new voting positions by the Cena and governance agreements between parties.
Me Victorin Fadé, the lawyer for the opposition party, describes the law in these terms: “ This law is even more crisogenic than the one passed in 2019 “. Wilfrid Houngbedji, for whom the code applies to all camps, considers this statement to be false: “ The new provisions apply to all parties. The two parties which support the power as much as the opposition party, neither of them fills the seats, which means all these parties start on the same basis of equality. »
Patrice Talon can now promulgate the code, the court’s decisions have enforceable force. “ We will comply with it, we are in a state of law, I fear that other Beninese will attack the law again », declares Me Fadé.
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