53

ARTICLE 53. Before taking his office, the President of the Republic shall take the following oath: "Before God, the Manes [spirits] of the ancestors, the Nation and before the Béninese People, the only holder of sovereignty; "I, President of the Republic, elected in accordance with the laws of the Republic do solemnly swear -To respect and defend the Constitution which the Béninese People have freely given to themselves; -To fulfil loyally the high office that the Nation has entrusted to me; -To allow myself to be guided only by the general interest and the respect for human rights, to consecrate all my strength to the research and the promotion of the common good, of peace and of national unity; -To preserve the integrity of the national territory; -To conduct myself everywhere as a faithful and loyal servant of the people. In case of perjury, that I shall submit to the severity of the law." This oath shall be received by the President of the Constitutional Court before the National Assembly and the Supreme Court.