Cotonou, Benin — Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni and opposition veteran Paul Hounkpé formally opened their presidential drives on Friday, giving voters contrasting pitches with only 17 days left before polling day.
Wadagni, chosen by outgoing President Patrice Talon to succeed him, told thousands in the northern town of Kandi that his platform centres on regional development and containing jihadist violence that has spilled across the border from Burkina Faso and Niger.
Hounkpé, campaigning in the economic capital Cotonou, urged supporters to treat the race as “a serious match, not a friendly,” adding: “If nothing changes in the next two weeks … we would be the winners.” Calixte Kounouvo, a senior figure in Hounkpé’s FCBE party, said the party is “bringing the best solution to hunger, to inclusivity, and to the country’s situation.”.
April’s ballot will be Benin’s fifth peaceful hand-over of power since multi-party rule began in 1990. A third force, The Democrats, was barred from the race for falling short of sponsorship requirements; several of its leaders have since swung behind Wadagni.
Source: Africanews
