Agency Report
A faction of soldiers led by Lieutenant-Colonel Pascal Tigri took control of Benin Republic in a surprise military coup on Sunday.
Appearing on state television, they announced the removal of President Patrice Talon, who has governed since 2016, along with the suspension of all state institutions.
The soldiers declared the closure of the country’s borders and the suspension of all political parties. Identifying themselves as the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), they stated on air that President Talon had been officially removed from office.
Talon’s whereabouts were unknown.
The French Embassy said on X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence. It urged French citizens to remain indoors for security.
Talon was due to step down next April after 10 years in power.
However, despite the announcement, Talon’s office said he was safe and the army was regaining control.
The group of soldiers, which called itself the Military Committee for Refoundation, also announced the closure of borders and suspension of political parties.
Leaders are ‘mismanaging democracy to sustain themselves in power’
Adama Gaye, former director of communications at regional bloc ECOWAS, has told Al Jazeera there had been a widespread feeling that there would be a “smooth transition” in Benin’s upcoming elections, because the country was achieving “great strides towards its economic development.”
However, he added that perhaps the upcoming transition to a new leader was perceived as not genuine.
People might see Talon’s successor simply as a “figurehead,” he argued, comparing the situation to Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency in Russia between 2008 and 2012, which had largely been seen as controlled by current President Vladimir Putin.
Talking more broadly about West Africa, a region where there have been several coups in recent years, Gaye said the root cause is that “we pretend to have democracy in all West African countries.”
Gaye said leaders in the region are “mismanaging democracy to sustain themselves in power; if they don’t become serious about promoting real democracy, they are exposing themselves to military coups.”
Benin politics: A snapshot
President Patrice Talon, a cotton tycoon, first came to power in 2016.
He won re-election five years later with 86 percent of the votes in the first round, boycotted by some opposition parties.
Talon was due to step down next April after the presidential election.
His party’s choice, former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, has been seen as the favourite to win.
Opposition candidate Renaud Agbodjo was rejected by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have sufficient sponsors.
Last month, the country’s legislature extended the presidential term of office from five to seven years, while keeping the term limit at two.
Apparent coup is ‘not a surprise’
The apparent coup attempt “does not come as a surprise to anyone”, Gaye told Al Jazeera.
He said there has been a lot of political tension in the country, with many opposition members imprisoned.
President Patrice Talon had managed to “eliminate key people in the opposition party, including former President Boni Yayi”, Gaye said, adding that he had also already designated his current minister of finance to take over the reins after the next election.
Talon safe, army regaining control: Presidency to AFP
Meanwhile, Benin’s government says loyalist soldiers and national guards have regained control after a group of soldiers announced on state television that they had seized power in an apparent coup attempt.
Foreign Minister Olushegun Adjadi Bakari said on Sunday that the coup plotters had taken control of state TV only and that the signal had been cut for several minutes.
“There is an attempt, but the situation is under control. Now it’s a small group of military. A large part of the army is still loyalist, and we are taking over the situation,” Bakari told the Reuters news agency.
“This is a small group of people who only control the television,” the presidency told the news agency.
“The regular army is regaining control. The city and the country are completely secure,” it said.
Borders closed, political parties suspended
But the group of soldiers claim they have overthrown Talon and said all borders in the country have been closed, and political parties have been suspended.
What is known so far
A group of soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri appeared on Benin’s state TV announcing the dissolution of the government in an apparent coup.
The so-called “Military Committee for Refoundation” said on state television that they had met and decided that President Patrice Talon “is removed from office as president of the republic”.
Tigri has been appointed president of the military committee, the soldiers said.
The French Embassy has said on X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence.
A number of coups have taken place across the continent in recent years.
Just last month, army officials in Guinea-Bissau seized power in a military coup with General Horta Inta-A named as the head of a one-year transitional government. The country has experienced nine coup attempts since its independence from Portugal in 1974.
In 2023, military leader Brice Oligui Nguema toppled Gabon’s then-President Ali Bongo Ondimba, a leader whose family had held power in the country for almost 56 years.
That same year, a coup removed Niger’s Mohamed Bazoum, a democratically elected leader who ruled for just two years before he was forced out of office. A military government was then installed, led by President Abdourahamane Tchiani.
In 2022, Burkina Faso’s military leader, President Paul-Henri Damiba, was deposed in the country’s second coup in a year, as army Captain Ibrahim Traore took charge.
In Mali, General Assimi Goita led soldiers to seize power in a 2020 coup.
0 comments:
Post a Comment