COTONOU, Benin: Benin’s main opposition party said Monday it would not support any candidate in presidential elections next month in which it has been barred from standing.
The Democrats party was sidelined from the April 12 polls after failing to gather enough signatures.
A further blow came with the resignation earlier this month of its leader, former president Thomas Boni Yayi, for health reasons.
The decision not to back any presidential contender was announced by the party’s administrative secretary Kamar Ouassagari at the end of a meeting in Cotonou.
However, he said the party remained open “to dialogue in a republican spirit”.
President Patrice Talon, who has ruled the west African country for a decade, is expected to hand over to his hand-picked successor, Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, after the polls.
After two terms in power, Talon, 67, is barred by the constitution from standing again.
Wadagni will face off against just one opponent, Paul Hounkpe of the opposition FCBE party.
The Democrats also chose a new party leader, Noureini Atchade, a former lawmaker who called for a party revival.
“Now is when the hardest part begins,” he told the meeting, calling on participants to “get organised” and “form battle lines to wake the country up”.
