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In Benin, while Recky Madougou, among others, is still detained, the Les Démocrates party has started new discussions with President Patrice Talon.
This Monday, the Marina Palace, in Cotonou, saw Éric Houndété, the boss of the opposition party Les Démocrates, disembark. While Boni Yayi, the former president, had already gone there to discuss with Patrice Talon, it is a new interlocutor who, this time, sticks to it. As usual, there was talk of the detention, deemed arbitrary by Les Démocrates, of Reckya Madougou. But what use are these talks if the opponent is still imprisoned?
In reality, the Democrats play on several tables. The discussion, according to RFI, between Patrice Talon and Éric Houndete lasted more than an hour. The party has therefore gone beyond the simple Madougou file. Houndete notably asked the head of state to review the law on the choice of the leader of the opposition, currently decided by the president himself.
The Madougou file was then discussed at length. The detentions of the opponent, but also of Joël Aivo, always exasperate Les Démocrates. The president reportedly replied to Houndete "that the judicial services were hard at work to ensure that these issues are resolved". If the leader of the opposition says he is dissatisfied, he assures us to remain "optimistic about these issues".
Still, the Democrats filed an amnesty bill last month. The party's honorary president, ex-president Boni Yayi, deplored Reckya Madougou's isolation and called for his unconditional release.
While the party Les Démocrates has presented its proposal for a “special law” of amnesty, it is in the Assembly that everything will be decided. Because by targeting “political figures in prison” and “Beninese political figures in exile”, the party knows full well that Patrice Talon is ready to make a gesture for the opponents, but that Reckya Madougou and Joël Aivo are not concerned by the calming measures from Talon.
The Democrats, however, rely on recommendations made by the United Nations, which call for the release of Reckya Madougou. If the discussions have, according to Houndete, been constructive, the amnesty law may never see the light of day: Patrice Talon's party is indeed the majority in parliament and it is hard to imagine the Assembly passing a law that would not please the president. .