2023-10-18 16:46:15
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The first vice-president of the Les Démocrates party, Éric Houndété was the Africa guest of RFI this Wednesday, October 18, 2023. He spoke on several subjects concerning the news of his party and the 2026 presidential election. The former president of the Democrats justifies the return of Boni Yayi at the head of the party and the impossible candidacy of Talon for a 3rd term.
RFI: Why is Boni Yayi returning to the arena?
Éric Houndété: He had never left the arena. He left the presidency of the Republic. We, together, founded the party Les Démocrates in 2020, and in relation to the objectives that we have, we judged that it was good to make a reclassification to feed us from his experience as former head of state, statesman, to strengthen our team to attack power.
Are you putting up a brave face against bad luck?
Absolutely not. When we have goals, we build a team that allows us to achieve these goals.
It has been more than two years since Reckya Madougou, your party’s candidate during the last presidential election, and the constitutionalist Joël Aïvo have been in prison. Large NGOs, such as Amnesty International and the UN Committee of Experts, have called for their release, and still nothing. How do you explain the intransigence of the head of state?
It’s going to be difficult for us to explain this. But what is important to us is what we do to bring about this liberation. As soon as the new Parliament was established, we were able to have a place within this new Parliament, unlike the mono-color Parliament which preceded it, we introduced a proposed amnesty law to ease the tension in our country. So, we will continue the fight so that Reckya, so that Joël, so that Latifou, and all the others who are still in the prisons of Patrice Talon’s power come out. We have no choice, it is a requirement for us.
Doesn’t Boni Yayi’s choice to take over the reins of his party risk making President Talon more inflexible?
He is a man, they have their history, but this is about the country. Feelings and emotions should not be there.
After eight years of Patrice Talon’s presidency, do you still blame the head of state for having undermined the Beninese democratic model?
Obviously, and this needs to be fixed. The electoral laws, and this is one of our projects, must be reviewed: the question of the electoral lists, the question of the body which manages the elections, even the Constitutional Court.
Does the question of sponsorships remain a serious problem for you?
It’s still a problem, even if for us it may seem like a thing of the past, we now have the capacity to mobilize sponsorship. The very foundations of the question need to be reviewed. We cannot use sponsorship to prevent people from being candidates.
You are once again represented in the National Assembly. Will you be able to make yourself heard?
We will speak in their ears, we will speak loudly so that they will have to hear us.
Do you fear that Patrice Talon will run in 2026 for a third term? He says no, do you believe him?
The law does not allow him to be a candidate, I do not see by what acrobatics he could be a candidate. I don’t put much effort into thinking about how someone is going to break the law.
Some say that when a head of state changes the Constitution, particularly the question of mandate, you never know…
The Constitution provides that no one can be President of the Republic of Benin more than twice. It’s been done twice, it’s over.
Boni Yayi has already served two terms, and we see his son, Chabi Yayi, entering the party’s leadership. How should we understand it?
President Yayi Boni’s son is a citizen. He has the right to militate in the party. He has the right to give his energy and his intelligence to the party, but that stops there. When the time comes, we will appreciate: if this involvement gives him the merit of having this or that position, he will have them. But being the son of the head of state within our party does not give anyone any special rights.
Some criticize the Democrats for always being in the radical opposition. Nothing finds favor in your eyes?
Likewise, some criticize us for being too soft. Those in power, for the little we do, believe that we are too harsh, that nothing finds favor in our eyes. They are willing to accept criticism of their actions. And God knows that if their action was so good, the population would not be complaining every day. All our action is to ensure that our country revives a peaceful democracy. Increasingly, repressive laws have been promoted, you cannot express yourself, neither in the media, nor on social networks, without feeling threatened. These are important questions that concern us.
How do you perceive the presence of French instructors in the north of the country, in Kandi?
I ask that the government be transparent on the issue. If we have people who are at Tourou airport, if we have people who are in Kandi, in Bembéréké, in Copargo, the government has the obligation and the duty, failing to speak to the populations, to speak to the Parliament, and Parliament is demanding that the government provide explanations. As a manager, I do not speculate. I need concrete elements to formulate my observations.
Transcription : RFI
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