The Les Démocrates (LD) party will not participate in the festivities marking the celebration of the 63rd anniversary of Benin’s independence. The party announced its decision to boycott through a statement from its president, Éric Houndété.
As expected, the Démocrates party aligns itself with its honorary president, former Head of State Boni Yayi. Like him, the Démocrates party does not see the point of participating in the military parade and other activities on August 1st, as the country’s socio-political situation is detrimental.
At the time of sending this message, many of our compatriots still languish in prisons, without any assurance or hope of being released. Others continue to endure painful exile. Agricultural producers cry out their suffering to deaf ears.
The party sympathizes with the pain of the wounded people. Therefore, it does not intend to attend the August 1st celebrations as if everything is well in the country. “This pain that grips us at the Les Démocrates Party does not encourage us to celebrate the 63rd anniversary of our independence with joy,” the statement signed by Éric Houndété reads.
Furthermore, the party indicated that it had taken the necessary steps to resolve the crisis and especially to organize a frank national dialogue. However, they have not achieved any success so far.
