President Talon throws Benin’s democracy under the bus
BY SOUMANOU SALIFOU Since Patrice Talon became president of Benin on 6 April 2016, he has meticulously managed to undo, brick by brick, the democratic architecture of a West African … Read More
Tag: democracy in Benin
Is Benin heading to unprecedented bloodshed under Patrice Talon?
BY JIBRIL TURE The crisis born out of the exclusion of the collective of the Beninese opposition parties from the legislative elections scheduled for 28 April just got worse after … Read More
Tension rises in Benin as talks to clear the way for legislative elections break down
BY JIBRIL TURE Updated on Monday, 1 April at 10 a.m. The painful execution of the mandate the speaker of the Beninese parliament, Adrien Houngbedji, received from President Patrice Talon … Read More
Benin’s resilient democracy poised to survive yet another deep crisis
BY SOUMANOU SALIFOU The small French-speaking West African nation of Benin was first labeled in 1990 ‘the lab of African democracy,’ then later referred to as ‘the flagship of democracy … Read More
Black women of exception: Benin’s former first lady Rosine Vieyra Soglo
BY SUE B. SIMON Rosine Vieyra Soglo, the former first lady of Benin (1991 to 1996), a high-power woman affectionately called Mama by most people, has been a key player … Read More
Benin business tycoon Sebastien Ajavon denied justice
BY LOU SIFA The verdict dropped like an asteroid from Benin’s skies: a twenty-year jail sentence and $8,600-fine are what the newly-established Court for the Repression of Economic and Terrorism … Read More
Popular outcry over Talon’s new attempt to amend the constitution
BY JIBRIL TURE UPDATED ON 31 JULY 2018 The brutal rejection in April 2017 by the Benin parliament of a vast constitutional amendment initiated by President Patrice Talon came down … Read More
Beninese fear their democracy may soon be under attack
BY LOU SIFA (Updated on 2 June.) Checks and balances—a notion rooted in the separation of powers to ensure no one branch of government has too much power to be … Read More
Benin boasts the best indigenous cabs in West Africa
A government-initiated cab service operated by private individuals proves a game-changer for visitors and nationals in Benin. BY SUE B. SIMON Gone are the days when tourists or businessmen visiting … Read More
Can Togo’s president Faure Gnassingbe survive the growing popular revolt?
BY JIBRIL TURE It’s anybody’s guess whether President Faure Gnassingbe can survive the nationwide growing popular revolt that, for more than two months, has shaken the two largest cities in … Read More