The president of the Constitutional Court of Benin Joseph Djogbénou has resigned from his post, the institution announced on Tuesday, six months before the legislative elections of January 2023.
“The vice-president of the Constitutional Court has received the letter of resignation of Mr. Joseph Djogbénou in his capacity as adviser and consequently as president,” said the press release published on the court’s website.
The day before, Mr. Djogbénou was received in an audience by Beninese President Patrice Talon in Cotonou, without making any statement at the end of this meeting.
This former personal lawyer of Mr. Talon was at the head of the institution since June 2018 and his mandate ended in June 2023. The communiqué does not specify the reasons for his resignation.
According to Beninese political analyst Moïse Dossoumou, this close associate of Mr. Talon may have resigned in view of a future participation in the January 2023 legislative elections.
A senior official of the Progressive Union party (UP, presidential majority) who requested anonymity shares this view: “do not be surprised to see him soon at the head of our party and in the running for the legislative elections,” he said.
A lawyer by profession, Joseph Djogbénou was elected deputy in 2015, then appointed Minister of Justice after the election of Patrice Talon in 2016.
With this resignation, it is Razaki Amouda, current vice-president who takes the head of the institution.
In Benin, the Constitutional Court’s mission is, among others, to control presidential and legislative elections as well as referendums, to ensure the constitutionality of laws and to deal with complaints of human rights violations.