Benin
Beninese mobilise against election violence

Misanet.com / IPS, 3 March - As the 4 March presidential election approaches, candidates have stepped up their electoneering and ordinary people have intensified their efforts to make sure that the poll is a peaceful one. All day long, private and state-run media have been broadcasting messages urging both the candidates and their supporters to keep the peace in Benin, which has long been the region's model democracy. 

Civil, non-governmental, and religious fraternal organisations, in collaboration with multilateral aid agencies, have organised non-violent marches promoting peace. These marches have criss-crossed the country in much the same manner as the candidate's own campaign convoys.

The peace campaigners have left no stone unturned in getting their message across. Banners, posters, skits, songs, and other media are being used to sensitise people about the importance of keeping the peace. "We can do it too", "Vote for peaceful balloting", and "Work for peaceful elections" are just a few of the many slogans being used to urge Beninese to reject election violence. 

- You can't take anything for granted, said Albin Feliho of Benin's Junior Chamber, a youth organisation affiliated with Junior Chamber International. "No one has the right to be violent. That's why we must fight for peace, to make sure that we make it through what will surely be a turbulent time. To do this, we need to sensitise and educate the leaders of all those wishing to ring in the beginning of this millennium peacefully," Feliho adds. His organisation, too, recently held a march for peace. 

Citizens' groups have successfully persuaded all 17 candidates to sign an agreement, called the Republican Pact of Good Conduct, in which they solemnly swear not to lead the country into violence, war, or chaos. With the election just one day away, people's worst fears are in danger of being confirmed as there are daily reports of violence in some areas of the country. 

In a recent statement, the Electoral Activities Observatory (EAO), an independent election monitoring organisation, stated that in the last few days of the campaign, several hot spots have cropped up around the country. 

The monitoring body has asked candidates to keep their civic responsibility to maintain peace and order in the country uppermost in their minds. "We are respectfully asking you to remind your party members at every level around the country to stay cool, calm and collected," the EAO president, Dorothe Sossa, told the candidates. 

There have been reports in local papers of some outbreaks of violence. Abomey, a town located 150 kilometres from Cotonou, Benin's capital city, seems to be the biggest flashpoint right now. Shootings, acts of intimidation, and other violence have been recorded there. 

One incident reported at Abomey was the firing of shots into the house of Prosper Behanzin, a follower of the current president, Mathieu Kerekou, on the night of 18 February. In the same area, an attack against another Kerekou supporter was reported on 23 February. Guerin Ramonth was shot with a home-made weapon because he had put up posters of his candidate on the walls of his home. He survived the assault. 

Abomey has traditionally been considered the stronghold of former President Nicephore Soglo. In past years, other candidates have shunned this region on their campaign tours. Today, the area seems to be up for grabs, which explains the violence, political observers say.

Although the incidents have been minimal, the press is urging Beninese to take them seriously. "Since little streams can join together to make big rivers, there's reason to be worried by the reports of violence from some areas of Benin," wrote Fernando Hessou, the editor-in-chief of a Cotonou daily, 'Le Point au Quotidien' (Daily Report). 

Benin is often praised by the international community for its model transition toward democracy. It is one of the few West African countries which have had peaceful transfers of political power in the last 10 years. But in a region crammed with current or potential danger zones, the Beninese have good reason to believe that, with respect to a flare-up, they are not yet out of the woods. 

Burkina Faso, which borders Benin on the north, is trying to find a way to resolve its perennial social tensions, characterised by conflict between civil society, the opposition, and the government of President Blaise Campaore. 

Nigeria, Benin's English-speaking neighbour, has been battered both economically and socially by a series of successive military regimes. It is also dealing with ethnic and religious rivalries raging within its borders which have recently claimed many victims. 

Togo is Benin's neighbour to the west. Hardly an example of democracy, its president, Gnassigbe Eyadema, has ruled with an iron fist for more than three decades. There are also many reports of serious human rights violations there. 

Finally, all of West Africa is worriedly watching events in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, which are all embroiled in war or armed rebellion. Other countries, such as Cõte d'Ivoire, which had long been models of serenity like Benin, have erupted into chaos after hotly contested elections. 

- People in Benin should not have to put up with the man-made nonsense surrounding them on every side. Instead, we should be trying to inoculate our brothers and sisters in the sub-region with the peace bug, stated Bruno Gnidhehoue, the president of Benin's Junior Chamber.

By Nana Rosine Ngangoue, IPS

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