14, April 2021
Benin’s Talon reelected president with 86 percent of vote 0
Benin’s President Patrice Talon was easily re-elected to a second term, provisional results showed Tuesday, after a weekend election critics said was already stacked in his favour following a crackdown on his opponents.
Talon, a cotton tycoon first elected to lead the West African state in 2016, faced two little-known rivals in Sunday’s vote with most of his key opponents in exile or disqualified from running.
Talon won 86.3 percent of the vote, the electoral commission said as it announced preliminary results, while his opponents Alassane Soumanou and Corentin Kohoue got 11.29 and 2.25 percent respectively.
Benin’s constitutional court must verify the final results.
Once praised as a vibrant multi-party democracy, critics say the former French colony has veered onto an authoritarian path under Talon with a steady campaign against his political foes.
Three international observer missions had already noted low turnout in the election, though they said the vote generally went ahead peacefully despite tensions and protests in the lead-up.
With the 62-year-old incumbent almost guaranteed victory, analysts had said voter turnout would be a key measure of his election success.
Turnout was 50.17 percent, the commission said.
Even before the announcement, for some Beninese the election results meant little.
“This election was just folklore,” said restaurant owner George Kpatchavi. “We are not waiting for the results because they were already known in advance. After the elections, everything will return to order.”
An association of civil society groups, which deployed more than 1,400 election observers, said in its preliminary statement Sunday that “attempts to pressurise, intimidate, threaten, corrupt or harass voters were observed across the entire country”.
Protests in north
Protests had blocked some routes in opposition strongholds in the centre and north of the country in the run-up to the election, leading to delays in the dispatch of electoral materials.
Two people were killed last week when troops fired live rounds into the air to break up an opposition protest blockading a major route in the central city of Save.
Benin has seen some economic successes under Talon, who promised a “KO” first-round win in Sunday’s election. Supporters have praised his projects to expand electricity and basic services.
But since Talon first came to power, critics say he has used a special economic crimes and terrorism court and electoral reforms as tools to disqualify the opposition.
Reckya Madougou, one opposition leader who was barred from running, was detained last month on accusations of plotting to disrupt the vote, a charge her lawyer said was politically motivated.
Earlier this month, a judge from the special court that ordered her detention said he had fled the country, denouncing political pressure to make rulings against Talon’s opponents.
Government officials dismissed claims the election was rigged to favour Talon and said exiled opposition leaders were trying to have the vote cancelled with a smear campaign.
Source: AFP
14, April 2021
After Prince Philip: what next for Queen Elizabeth II? 0
Queen Elizabeth II faces the twilight of her record-breaking reign without her most trusted adviser and personal confidant — husband Prince Philip.
But his death last week aged 99 is not expected to change the monarch’s lifetime commitment to duty, as a new chapter beckons for Britain’s most famous family.
The Queen, who turns 95 next week, once described the Duke of Edinburgh as her “strength and stay”, in a rare moment of public candour.
He has been credited with the successful running of “The Firm”, cementing its position in national life, and helping it to weather crises and scandal.
“The Queen, as you would expect, is an incredibly stoic person,” said the couple’s second son, Prince Andrew, who has been under a shadow because of his links to the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
“She described (the duke’s death) as having left a huge void in her life,” he told reporters, adding the family was “rallying round to make sure we’re there to support her”.
– Life of service –
A steady stream of close family members have visited the Queen since last week, including her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, Andrew, and youngest son, Edward.
Edward said his mother was “bearing up”, despite the understandable shock at the loss.
The Times reported on Tuesday that she is currently not being given her daily red boxes of government papers during the two weeks of official royal mourning.
But early signs are the Queen will remain faithful to the commitment she made in a radio address to the Commonwealth as a 21-year-old princess from Cape Town, South Africa, in 1947.
“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service,” she said.
Just a day after her husband’s death was announced, she had an audience with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, according to the Court Circular, which lists royal events and engagements.
On Tuesday, she hosted an event at Windsor Castle, west of London, to mark the retirement of the Lord Chamberlain, the most senior officer in the royal household.
She has links to more than 600 charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organisations.
– Family support –
Prince Philip was almost ever-present at the Queen’s side since she acceded to the throne in 1952 but had been seen less after retiring from public duties in 2017.
It is expected she will now rely more heavily on Charles, his second wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as well as second-in-line Prince William and his wife at engagements, according to British media reports.
Charles, now 72, has already taken on more of her duties in recent years, including overseas, in preparation for his long-awaited succession.
He is expected to accompany his mother for the state opening of Parliament on May 11.
Younger royals have also accompanied her at events, including online over videoconference during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Times quoted royal sources as saying she will still carry out solo engagements.
The Queen’s apparent desire to get out and about is in stark contrast to Britain’s last female monarch, Queen Victoria, who wore black for four decades and barely made any public appearances after her husband Albert’s death in 1861.
Her seclusion led her to being called the “widow of Windsor” and increased the popularity of the republican movement.
– Step up –
Public sympathy for the Queen after her husband’s death is high, and she has consistently topped polls as the most popular royal.
Her presence and longevity as Britain’s longest-serving monarch have helped stave off republican sentiment, even as attitudes to the monarchy have changed over the years.
Charles has effectively taken over his father’s role as the most senior royal male, and if he follows in his footsteps, he has a series of pressing issues to deal with.
Andrew’s public reappearance last weekend caused outrage in some quarters, as US prosecutors still want to speak to him about his links to Epstein.
The palace is also dealing with the fall-out of Charles’ youngest son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s shock move to the United States last year — and their explosive claims of racism and treatment in the royal family.
Saturday’s funeral will also see Harry and elder brother William reunited, with widely-reported claims of a deep rift between the pair.
The brothers — once close after the death of their mother, princess Diana, in a Paris car crash in 1997 — pointedly issued separate tributes to their grandfather after his passing.
Source: AFP