Benin coup attempt failed – NRC

In Benin, a group of soldiers attempted to seize power in the early hours of Sunday morning. Eight heavily armed soldiers, calling themselves the Comité Militaire pour la Refondation, appeared on state television announcing that the constitution had been suspended, all institutions would be dissolved and President Patrice Talon had been “removed from office.”

However, later in the morning, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou debunked the image of a successful takeover. According to him, the uprising had been “nipped in the bud” and could be traced back to “a small group of soldiers” who had mutiny. The regular forces would have retained control and Talon would be safe.

The coup plotters’ announcement followed several reports of nighttime shots and improvised roadblocks in the area around Talon’s official residence in the city of Cotonou, but in the hours that followed a contradictory picture emerged. According to the president’s entourage, Talon and his family were “safe” and the regular armed forces would “regain the ground.” Military sources spoke of a group that managed to capture the television studio and failed to reach the presidential complex. The French embassy, ​​among others, called on its citizens to stay indoors, which further fueled the uncertainty in Cotonou.

The coup attempt follows a controversial constitutional amendment that parliament adopted in November. It extended the terms of president and parliament from five to seven years and created a senate in which former heads of state and members appointed by Talon can have seats.

The opposition saw the institutional shift, which had yet to be ratified by the Constitutional Council, as a derailment of the democratic rules of the game. The reform, which according to the government was supposed to open a “new institutional page”, would still give Talon, who would resign in April after ten years, the opportunity to maintain influence behind the scenes. The new Senate would offer him an institutional shadow cabinet, according to the opposition party Les Démocrates.

According to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, coups in the region are associated with worsening governance, increased violence and a breakdown of public services

The fact that this political crisis now took a military turn, even if only briefly, shows how deep the mistrust in the political process runs. Not only the reform but also the way in which Talon’s departure was already anticipated in Cotonou reinforced the image of a carefully orchestrated transition. Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni was emphatically put forward as his successor by the Talon camp. In addition, it became clear how the political playing field on the other side was narrowing. The main opposition bloc, Les Démocrates, lost its duo candidate when the electoral commission declared the candidacy invalid due to one missing declaration of support.

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The failed takeover appears to be a new link in what the African Union previously called a “funny wave” of coups in the Sahel. The developments in Benin fit in a region where military takeovers increasingly determine the political dynamics. The military seized power in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Those coups arose from a combination of security crises, resistance to French influence and an army that saw itself as a last resort. Last week’s coup in Guinea-Bissau seemed mainly to be the result of rivalry within the security services and a structurally weak state organization.

In Benin, the group of soldiers justified the intervention on Sunday morning with a mix of internal and structural grievances: the Talon government had neglected the army, while vital sectors of the economy were allegedly “confiscated” by a small powerful circle. At the same time, they accused Talon of taking an increasingly repressive course: marginalizing opponents, arbitrary arrests and depriving citizens of their right to choose freely.

Earlier this year, François Soudan described in Jeune Africa how the military rulers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have built up a Putscho-sovereignist model in which elections fade into the background and security is no longer guaranteed, even in coastal states such as Benin and Togo. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, an African think tank that annually assesses the state of governance on the continent, rather pointed out that the coups in the Sahel do not bring the promised security, but rather are accompanied by deteriorating governance, increased violence and a breakdown of public services.

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