{"id":30050,"date":"2026-03-26T18:33:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=30050"},"modified":"2026-03-26T19:03:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T17:03:03","slug":"benin-opposition-figure-backs-ruling-party-candidate","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/benin-opposition-figure-backs-ruling-party-candidate\/","title":{"rendered":"Benin opposition figure backs ruling party candidate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With less than three weeks to go before Benin\u2019s April 12 presidential election, a key political shift is reshaping the race, as Chabi Yayi throws his support behind ruling party candidate Romuald Wadagni.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Chabi Yayi, son of former President Boni Yayi and a former opposition figure, confirmed his endorsement after recently leaving the Les D\u00e9mocrates party. His departure earlier this month followed that of his father, signalling a significant break within the opposition ranks.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The move comes at a time of deep divisions within Les D\u00e9mocrates, which has been weakened by internal disputes and is no longer participating in the presidential race after failing to secure approval for a candidate.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Political analysts say the endorsement could bolster the campaign of Wadagni, while further exposing fractures within the opposition ahead of a crucial vote.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on the development, political commentator Aristide Kanoussou says the decision marks a turning point in Benin\u2019s political landscape, reflecting both the internal struggles within the opposition and the shifting alliances shaping the election.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":30051,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-30050","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"With less than three weeks to go before Benin\u2019s April 12 presidential election, a key political shift is reshaping the race","published_date":"2026-03-26 18:30:19","news_description":"With less than three weeks to go before Benin\u2019s April 12 presidential election, a key political shift is reshaping the race","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30052,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30050\/revisions\/30052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=30050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}