Benin lawyers challenge controversial electoral code at African human rights court

The complaint, lodged by legal experts Landry Angelo Adélakoun, Romaric Zinsou, Miguèle Houéto, Fréjus Attindoglo, and Canaïde Akouèdénoudjè, claims that the electoral code, which was enacted on 5 March by the Beninese Parliament, violates several international human rights standards.

The lawyers’ submission focuses on three critical aspects of the new electoral code.

The first is Article 132, which states that “a deputy or a mayor can only sponsor a candidate who is a member or designated by the party that presented them for their election.”

It further adds that “in case of a governance agreement concluded before the submission of presidential candidacies and filed with the National Electoral Commission (Cena), the deputy or mayor may sponsor a candidate who is a member of either of the signatory parties.”

The lawyers argue that these provisions effectively impose an imperative mandate, contravening both the Beninese Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which asserts in Article 13.1 that “every citizen has the right to participate freely in the government of their country, either directly or through freely chosen representatives.”

The second point of contention is Article 146, which stipulates that “only lists that have obtained at least 20% of the valid votes in each legislative electoral constituency are eligible for seat allocation.

However, for political parties that have concluded and submitted a coalition agreement to the National Autonomous Electoral Commission prior to the election, the threshold will be calculated by adding the votes of those who received at least 10% of the national vote.”

The lawyers argue that this article contradicts the constitutional provision that deputies are elected by universal suffrage and represent the entire nation, with any imperative mandate being null and void.

The third aspect concerns the requirement under Article 132 that “no one can be a candidate for the positions of President or Vice-President of the Republic unless duly sponsored by deputies and/or mayors representing at least 15% of all deputies and mayors from at least three-fifths of the legislative electoral constituencies.”

The complainants contend that this requirement undermines the citizens’ right to freely choose their potential presidential candidates and also violates Article 13.1 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The Beninese lawyers argue that these provisions of the new electoral code are crisis-inducing and conflict with relevant regional and international legal instruments.

They have called on the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to declare that the amended law violates Articles 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The new electoral code was passed by the Beninese Parliament following the Constitutional Court’s decision DCC N°24-001 on 4 January 2024, which indicated that the code created unequal conditions among mayors, and ordered the Parliament to ensure uniform legal treatment for all mayors.

Despite these directives, several contentious articles remained in the revised text, prompting the current legal challenge.