By AFPMore by this AuthorCOTONOU,Troops in Benin maintained a tight clamp on protests Friday after two days of post-election violence that left up to three people dead. Parliamentary elections last Sunday were marked by low turnout and widespread anger at changes to electoral rules that effectively barred opposition parties from fielding candidates. Turnout was 27.1 per cent, a record low since Benin transited to democracy nearly 40 years ago, although higher than the 23 per cent given in preliminary results, Mr Djogbenou said. VOTE'S VALIDITYLarge numbers of troops and riot police -- as well as hundreds of protesters manning burning barricades -- squared off in the streets of Benin's economic capital Cotonou. Mr Djogbenou, who is close to the presidency, said the "irregularities" and "disturbances" recorded during polling were not enough to "compromise the validity of the vote".

Source: Daily Nation May 03, 2019 11:03 UTC