Finance minister favourite as Benin votes for president

Benin election officials began counting votes after Sunday’s election for a president, with Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni favourite, having overseen a decade of economic growth despite jihadist attacks in the north.

The head of the electoral commission, Sacca Lafia, said the election had passed off peacefully.

But an electoral monitoring platform set up by civil society groups reported around a hundred incident ‘alerts’ that morning.

These cases involved voting stations that had opened early or where voting boxes appeared full before the start of voting.

Nearly eight million voters were eligible to cast ballots to choose a successor to Patrice Talon, who steps down after two five-year terms, having endorsed Wadagni as his successor.

“We must vote to ensure a high turnout,” said Yvan Glidja, a man in his 30s who turned up early at a school-turned-polling station in the commercial capital Cotonou to vote for Wadagni.

But in the voting stations visited by AFP journalists there were few signs of a strong turn-out for the vote in the west African country.

Voting stations started closing at 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) and the count started soon afterwards.

– ‘Disgruntled’ –

Wadagni cast his vote to little fanfare in his southwestern home town of Lokossa.

But crowds of clapping supporters greeted Talon, the outgoing president, as he arrived to do the same in Cotonou’s business district of Zongo.

“The best is to come for Benin,” he said as he emerged from the polling booth.

“My wish is to see a great and powerful Benin in which everyone finds their place,” he added.

While Talon said he intended to retire and would not be seeking to influence his successor, he added: “It is illusory to think that one can fade into the background.”

Backed by the two main ruling parties, Wadagni is being challenged by Paul Hounkpe, an opposition figure whose campaign has been very low-key and who needed help from majority lawmakers to secure the required parliamentary endorsements to get on the ballot.

Casting his ballot in the town of Bopa, where he once served as mayor, Hounkpe called on “all Beninese” to “fulfil their duty… to turn a page” in the country’s history.

The main opposition, The Democrats party is not fielding a candidate as its leader, Renaud Agbodjo, failed to secure the required number of parliamentary endorsements needed to contest the vote.

“Usually there are lots of people voting here, but this time voters are only trickling in. The strong opposition is not represented,” lamented Aubert Santanna, a retiree who came to perform his civic duty.

The ruling majority blames The Democrats’ exclusion over internal divisions. Several senior figures in the party joined Wadagni’s campaign.

“The disgruntled haven’t disappeared. Tensions and frustration remain high; their electoral hopes have been slaughtered,” political analyst Rufin Godjo said of the voters.

The European Union, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have all sent substantial teams of poll monitors.

– Golden decade –

Benin’s next elections will only take place in 2033. A constitutional reform passed last year extended the presidential term from five to seven years and synchronised all elections to take place then.

A key question for many is the next president’s approach to civil liberties after the authoritarian turn taken by Talon.

Many of his opponents were handed heavy sentences for various crimes.

But during Talon’s decade in power, GDP doubled, growth surpassed six percent each year, tourism expanded and numerous infrastructure projects were completed.

As the architect of this development during his 10 years at the finance ministry, Wadagni embodies continuity.

But major challenges remain, including a huge wealth gap.

“We expect the future president to do even better than his predecessor. After infrastructure, he must now focus on social issues,” said voter Rahim Oke.

The poverty rate is estimated at more than 30 percent with many Beninese complaining that the benefits of growth, much dependent on delivering security, have not reached them.

Benin’s north is plagued by increasingly deadly jihadist violence spilling over from the insecurity-ridden Sahel region.

If elected, Wadagni is expected to be able to count on the loyalty of the army, which played a decisive role in repelling an attempted coup against Talon in December.