UN Asks Benin for Restraint After ‘High-Handed’ Protest Response

(Bloomberg) -- The United Nations asked Benin to exercise restraint after security forces used firearms to disperse crowds that were protesting against the conclusion of a legislative vote in which the opposition was barred from participating.

Protesters gathered Thursday for a second day near the residence of former leader Thomas Boni Yayi in Cotonou, the capital, demanding the annulment of the April 28 election in which only two parties that are close to President Patrice Talon were allowed to compete. Last month, Yayi called for a boycott of the vote that mainly served to strengthen Talon’s hold on power.

During Thursday’s protests, crowds blocked roads with burning tires and wooden planks while throwing stones at security forces. At least one protester was killed by the firing of live ammunition, reported Agence France-Presse, citing unidentified sources at a nearby hospital.

“We note with concern the ongoing tensions and unrest, resulting in the destruction of property and high-handed response from the security forces,” Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said by email. “We call on all Beninese stakeholders to exercise maximum restraint and to seek solutions to their differences through dialogue.”

The small West African nation of about 11 million people is facing its worst political crisis in almost two decades since the electoral commission in March blocked five opposition parties on technical grounds. Voters mostly boycotted the vote in which the Progressive Union party took 46 seats in the 83-member parliament after a participation rate of 23 percent, according to preliminary results released by the electoral commission.

The Constitutional Court will proclaim the results at a later date.

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