Benin Government reminds voters to respect barrier measures against COVID-19

17 Mai 2020

Cotonou, Benin, May 17 (Infosplusgabon) - The Beninese government Sunday reminded voters to respect the measures put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) during the communal elections taking place throughout the country.

"...In these times of health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, and to avoid the spread of the Coronavirus during this day, it is appropriate to recall the barrier gestures that we are called to observe to protect ourselves and others," according to a government statement.

“The government recommends that voters go to their polling centers with their protective masks on, wash their hands, go to the election officers and observe social distancing if they are in a waiting line.

“Citizens are also asked to present their document, take the ballot and the stamp, go to the voting booth to make their choice, return to deposit the folded ballot in the ballot box and return to the electoral officers to sign and collect their document.”

The government also invited voters to clean their hands with the hydroalcoholic gel before leaving the polling station and to return directly to their homes to avoid crowds at the polling stations.

Beninese are voting to elect their representatives in the communes of the national territory.

Five political parties are taking part. They are the Progressive Union (UP), the Republican Bloc (BR), the Party for Democratic Renewal (PRD), the Cauris Forces for an Emerging Benin (FCBE, the only opposition party) and the Democratic Union for a New Benin (UDBN).

To counter the spread of Covid-19, Benin experimented, for the first time, with an exclusive media election campaign.

Private and public media outlets were selected to receive and disseminate the messages of the contending parties to the population.

At the end of the ballot, only lists that had received at least 10 percent of the valid votes cast nationally were eligible for the allocation of seats.

The number of seats to be allocated to each district is determined by dividing the number of its population by the communal quotient.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/KJH/GABON2020

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