Benin is an African country. Benin covers an area of 114,763 square
kilometres and its population is 1,17,33,000 approximately. French is
the official language of government. However, about 36 languages are
spoken in the state. Of the ethnic groups, about 36% are Fon, 15% Adja
and Mina, 12% Yoruba and 9.6% Bariba. Among the religions, 52% are
Christians, 24% are Muslims and 18% are traditional religions.
The mighty declaration of national sovereignty in the constitution is
awesome. "National sovereignty shall belong to the People. No portion of
the People, no community, no corporation, no party or political
association, no trade union organization nor any individual shall be
able to abrogate the exercise of it."
Everyone has equal voting
rights, regardless of age. Religion, ethnography, language is not an
issue here. Everyone has the right to practice their own culture.
Everyone's right to practice their own language is guaranteed. Awareness
on proper management of toxic substances in the interest of
environmental protection is mentionable. The president will be directly
elected by the people, and no one will serve more than two terms. The
vote will be in two rounds, so that someone gets more than half of the
votes.
These are positive aspects. There is nothing that much objectionable in constitution.
Admirable Articles of Benin's Constitution
ARTICLE 3
National sovereignty shall belong to the People. No portion of the People, no community, no corporation, no party or political association, no trade union organization nor any individual shall be able to abrogate the exercise of it.
Sovereignty shall be exercised in accordance with the present Constitution which is the Supreme Law of the State.
Any law, any statutory text and any administrative act contrary to these provisions shall be null and void. Consequently, any citizen shall have the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court against the laws, texts, and acts presumed unconstitutional.
ARTICLE 6
Suffrage shall be universal, equal and secret. The electors shall be, under the conditions determined by law, all Béninese nationals of both sexes over the age of eighteen and in full possession of their civil and political rights.
ARTICLE 10
Every person has a right to culture. The State has the duty to safeguard and promote the national values of civilizations, as much material as spiritual, as well as the cultural traditions.
ARTICLE 11
All communities comprising the Béninese nation shall enjoy the freedom to use their spoken and written languages and to develop their own culture while respecting those of others.
The State must promote the development of national languages of intercommunication.
ARTICLE 18
No one shall be submitted to torture, nor to maltreatment, nor to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment.
No one shall have the right to prevent a detainee or an accused person from being examined by a doctor of his choice.
No one may be detained in a penal institution if he does not fall under the provisions of a penal law in force.
No one may be detained for a duration greater than forty-eight hours except by a decision of the magistrate before whom he must have been presented. This delay may be prolonged only in circumstances exceptionally provided for by law and may not exceed a period greater than eight days.
ARTICLE 28
The storage, handling, and removal of toxic wastes or pollutants originating from factories and other industrial or cottage industry units installed in the national territory shall be regulated by law.
ARTICLE 29
The transportation, importation, storage, burying and the discharging on the national territory of toxic wastes or foreign pollutants and any agreement relating to it shall constitute a crime against the Nation. The applicable sanctions shall be defined by law.
ARTICLE 34
Each Béninese citizen, civilian or military, has the sacred duty to respect, in all circumstances, the Constitution and the established constitutional order as well as the laws and regulations of the Republic.
ARTICLE 35
Citizens responsible for a public office or elected to a political office have the duty to fulfil it with conscience, competence, probity, devotion, and loyalty in the interest of the common good.
ARTICLE 42
The President of the Republic shall be elected by direct universal suffrage for a mandate of five years, renewable only one time.
In any case, no one shall be able to exercise more than two presidential mandates.
ARTICLE 43
The election of the President of the Republic shall take place with a uninominal majority ballot in two rounds.
ARTICLE 65
Any attempt to overthrow the constitutional regime by the personnel of the Armed Forces or of the Public Security shall be considered as a breach of duty and a crime against the Nation and the State and will be punished in accordance with the law.
ARTICLE 66
In case of a coup d'Etat, of a putsch, of aggression by mercenaries or of any action by force whatsoever, any member of a constitutional agency shall have the right and the duty to make an appeal by any means in order to re-establish the constitutional legitimacy, including recourse to existing agreements of military or defense cooperation.
In these circumstances for any Béninese to disobey and organize himself to put a check to the illegitimate authority shall constitute the most sacred of rights and the most imperative of duties.
ARTICLE 79
The Parliament shall be composed of a single Assembly called the National Assembly whose members shall carry the title of Deputy.
It shall exercise legislative power and shall control the action of the Government.
ARTICLE 80
The Deputies shall be elected by direct universal suffrage. The duration of the mandate shall be four years. They may be re-elected. Each Deputy shall be the representative of the entire nation and any compulsory vote shall be void.
ARTICLE 86 (Part of it)
The entire report of the debates of the National Assembly shall be published in the Official Journal.
ARTICLE 93
The right to vote of the Deputies shall be personal. The Rules of
Procedure of the National Assembly may authorize in exceptional cases
the delegation of a vote. In this instance, no one may receive the
delegation for more than one term of office.
