In Benin, the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA) has made public the list of political parties that have fulfilled the conditions to participate in the January 8, 2023 elections.
Of the eight political parties that had submitted their applications, six were selected to conquer the Beninese electorate. These are the Progressive Union for Renewal (UPR), the Republican Bloc (BR), the Movement of Elites Committed to the Emancipation of Benin (MOELE-BENIN), the Democratic Union for a New Benin (UDBN) and the Popular Liberation Movement (MPL). These different parties have managed to update their candidacy files with the body in charge of organising the elections.
The main opposition party, the Democrats, will not participate in these elections. This is because Eric Houndété and his team did not obtain the tax receipts that were missing from their files. According to our information, 04 candidates of the political party owe nearly 1.5 billion CFA francs in taxes. To avoid their cases being rejected, they resolved on Monday to pay their debts over a period of five years. Unfortunately, this commitment was not enough to convince the Directorate General of Taxes, which clearly does not intend to make any concessions. Because those concerned did not have the missing piece.
Moreover, it should be noted that, according to the law, an incomplete file eliminates the entire list. And another requirement is to be up to date with your taxes.
Apart from the Democrats, the files of the New National Force (NFN) were also invalidated by the ANEC for the upcoming legislative elections. This is due to duplication in the files. The political group took the case to the Constitutional Court. But the court ruled that the party’s appeal was inadmissible.
