Alphonse Alley - President of Dahomey

President of Dahomey

Alley was one of the few figures who were trusted by northern and southern Dahomeyans alike. His role was only temporary, until power was to be ceded back to civilians in six months time. Among the events on the official timetable, which the military published on January 17, 1968, was the creation of a nonmilitary Constitution Commission on January 31, which would write a new Dahomeyan constitution. The document granted Alley strong executive power, and was adopted by the Comite Militaire Revolutionaire, Alley's interim government comprisising only military officers, in early March. A national referendum on the constitution was held on March 31, which passed with 92 percent in favor.

The Comite decided to ban all former presidents, vice presidents, government ministers, and National Assembly presidents from the upcoming presidential election. This was to prevent Dahomeyan politics from repeating its practices of old. The Supreme Court ruled the proscription was unconstitutional, although Alley overruled the decision. He instead only recognised five candidates as legitimate.

In response to their disqualification, former presidents Hubert Maga and Sourou-Migan Apithy staged protests while Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin, another ex-president, supported an obscure candidate named Basile Adjou Moumouni. The election was held on May 15, and was Dahomey's first since 1964. Moumouni won the election with 80 percent of the vote, but Alley declared the result void because the protest prevented nearly three-quarters of the electorate from voting. This result sparked further demonstrations, and Maga, Apithy, Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin, and former president Christophe Soglo were forbidden to enter the country, in an attempt to crack down on dissent. Alley felt he had made a mistake in disqualifying Maga, Apithy, and Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin, as he believed that only they could bring unity to Dahomey.

In a radio address on May 11, Alley announced that due to the nullification, the military would heve to stay in power beyond June 17. He noted that his administration would require extra time to find a successor who was backed by everyone. Alley suggested that the military should retreat back to the barracks at Camp Ghezo and leave Dahomeyan politics to the career politicians. The view was unpopular, and he was outvoted by his military comrades. Alley eventually became little more than Kouandété's mouthpiece.

Alley attempted to remove Kouandété from the army, though to no avail. In any case, by June his fellow officers had made up their mind as to the next president. After talks with unionists, civil servants, and academics, they "entrust the reins of power to Émile Derlin Zinsou for at least five years", who was "charged to form a government of national union", as per a June 28 newspaper article by the state press. On July 17, Alley handed power to Zinsou, a veteran politician.