Voters in Benin went to the polls for legislative and local elections a little more than one month after authorities said the army thwarted an attempted coup. The ballot selected 109 members of the National Assembly and municipal councillors, setting the political landscape before a presidential vote on April 12.
The election commission counted about eight million registered voters. It was the first national vote since a group of soldiers attempted to seize power in early December, briefly shaking the commercial capital, Cotonou. The army later said it had regained control, and officials reported that President Patrice Talon was safe.
Talon is not seeking another term. The governing coalition selected Economy Minister Romuald Wadagni for the presidency, while Paul Hounkpè will represent the Cauris Forces for an Emerging Benin, or FCBE. Those two candidates were expected to contest the April election.
The legislative and local polls followed a revised calendar that places all three elections in the same year. Lawmakers will serve seven-year terms rather than five after a constitutional change approved in November. Twenty-four parliamentary seats are reserved for women, one in each electoral district.
Five parties contested the National Assembly. The Progressive Union for Renewal, Republican Bloc and Moele-Benin belong to the presidential coalition. The opposition field consisted of the Democrats, associated with former president Thomas Boni Yayi, and the more moderate FCBE.
Only three parties appeared in the municipal races: the Progressive Union for Renewal, Republican Bloc and FCBE. Election authorities rejected the Democrats’ candidate lists. The party will also lack a presidential nominee after an elected official withdrew an endorsement, disqualifying its candidate.
New seat-allocation rules add another hurdle. Parties generally must receive at least 20 percent of the vote in each of Benin’s 24 districts to win parliamentary representation. The threshold falls to 10 percent for parties that reached an agreement with another party before voting. The Democrats were the only legislative contestant without such an arrangement.
Analysts consequently warned that the rules could produce a legislature dominated by one political force, recalling the single-party parliament formed in 2019. The concern was not a declared outcome; it depended on district results and whether opposition parties cleared the thresholds.
Campaigning was peaceful but subdued. Governance expert Joël Atayi Guedegbe described little excitement, while another specialist said the local ballot did not feel inclusive to many voters. The Vodun Days festival created a competing public focus, and analysts expected turnout—especially among young people—to be closely watched.
The ballot therefore measured more than party strength. It tested participation after a coup attempt, the effects of new electoral rules and the opposition’s ability to remain represented. The results would also determine the institutional setting inherited by whoever succeeds Talon in April.
