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Former Beninese President Thomas Boni Yayi, whose opposition Democrats party was recently excluded from next year’s presidential election, strongly condemned the failed military coup that took place on Sunday.
The attempted uprising, which saw soldiers briefly announce the ousting of President Patrice Talon on national television, was swiftly suppressed, aided by military support from several other West African nations.
Boni Yayi, who served as president from 2006 to 2016, stressed that the transfer of state power must follow “the cardinal and unconditional principle… of the ballot box.”
This statement comes as his own party’s candidate was rejected from the upcoming poll.
The incident—the latest in a series of military takeovers across the region—left several people dead and led to the arrest of at least a dozen plotters.
Meanwhile, the President of ECOWAS, Omar Alieu Touray, expressed concern that “elections have become a major trigger of instability” in the community, citing a “growing erosion of electoral inclusivity.”
Touray also warned about the worsening security situation near the borders with the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso—which are now run by military governments and have exited ECOWAS.
