The Republic of Benin was formed in 1960 when the colony of French Dahomey gained independence from France. Prior to this, the area that is now the Republic of Benin was divided largely between two coastal kingdoms, Dahomey and Porto-Novo, and a large area of various tribes in the north. The French assembled these various groups together into the colony of French Dahomey, which was part of the various colonies of French West Africa from 1904 until 1960. In the independence era, the republic was extremely unstable for the first decade and a half of existence, with multiple governments and multiple military coups. In 1972, Mathieu Kérékou led a military coup deposing the Presidential Council and appointing himself as the head of state, a position he held until 1991 when the country returned to multiparty elections. Since that point, the state has held multiple presidential and legislative elections and a number of different parties have become important.
The Politics of Benin take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, wherein the President of Benin is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the legislature. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The current political system is derived from the 1990 Constitution of Benin and the subsequent transition to democracy in 1991. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Benin a "hybrid regime" in 2018.
The Democratic Renewal Party is a political party of Benin led by Adrien Houngbédji. Houngbédji lived in exile for several years, but returned to Benin to take part in the National Conference of 1990. He built up his party largely around other exiled Beninese. PRD was legally recognized on September 24, 1990.
The African Movement for Development and Progress is a political party in Benin. In the legislative elections held on 30 March 2003, the party was part of the Presidential Movement, the alliance of supporters of President Mathieu Kérékou, who had won the 2001 presidential election, and won nine out of 83 seats. The President of MADEP is Séfou Fagbohoun, a wealthy businessman.
The Movement for Development and Solidarity is a political party in Benin. In the legislative elections held on 30 March 2003, the party was a member of the Presidential Movement, the alliance of supporters of Mathieu Kérékou, who had won the 2001 presidential elections, and won one out of 83 seats. It helped form the coalition Union Makes the Nation, the main opposition to President Yayi Boni's government following the 2011 elections.
Adrien Houngbédji is a Beninese politician and the leader of the Democratic Renewal Party, one of Benin's main political parties. He was President of the National Assembly of Benin from 1991 to 1995, Prime Minister of Benin from 1996 to 1998, and President of the National Assembly again from 1999 to 2003. Beginning in 1991, he stood repeatedly as a presidential candidate; he placed second in 2006, but was heavily defeated by Yayi Boni in a second round of voting. From 2015 to 2019, he served for a third time as President of the National Assembly.
Mariam Aladji Boni Diallo is a Beninese politician. She was Benin's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 10 April 2006 to 17 June 2007.
Kamarou Fassassi was a Beninese politician.
Sacca Lafia is a Beninese politician who has served in the government of Benin as Minister of the Interior since 2016. Previously he was Minister of Mines, Energy, and Water under President Yayi Boni, beginning in 2007. He is President of the Union for Democracy and National Solidarity (UDS), a political party.
Ganiou Soglo is a Beninese politician of the Benin Rebirth Party (RB) who served in the government for a time as Minister of Culture, Literacy, and the Promotion of National Languages. He is the son of former President Nicéphore Soglo and brother of Léhady Soglo.
The Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin is a political party of Benin, formed by supporters of president Yayi Boni. In the parliamentary election held on 31 March 2007, the party won 35 out of 83 seats. The party expanded its plurality to 41 seats in the 2011 election that followed the contested reelection of Yayi Boni as president.
Presidential elections were held in Benin on 13 March 2011 after being postponed twice from 27 February and 6 March 2011. Incumbent President Yayi Boni ran for re-election against thirteen other candidates, including former National Assembly head and political veteran Adrien Houngbédji and Abdoulaye Bio-Tchané, president of the West African Development Bank. He won 53.18% of the vote, enough to win a second term without a run-off. It is the first time since the restoration of democracy in Benin that a candidate has won the presidency in a single round. A second round run-off would have been held on 27 March 2011 if it had been necessary.
Parliamentary elections were held in Benin on 30 April 2011, after being delayed from 17 April 2011. Turnout was reportedly low. The election saw a six-seat increase for the Cauri Forces for an Emerging Benin, composed of allies of the president Yayi Boni, which took nearly half the parliamentary seats. The election consolidated Boni's victory in the 2011 presidential elections the previous month; Adrien Houngbédji, the second-placed candidate, had rejected the validity of the presidential election results.
Pascal Irénée Koupaki is a Beninese politician who served as Prime Minister of Benin from May 2011 to August 2013. Koupaki worked as an official at the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and he was Director of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister from 1996 to 1998. Under President Yayi Boni, Koupaki was Minister of Finance from 2006 to 2007 and then Minister of State for the Exploration, Development, and Evaluation of Public Policy from 2007 to 2011.
Lionel Zinsou is a French–Beninese economist and investment banker who was Prime Minister of Benin from 2015 to 2016. Since June 2017, he has been the president of Terra Nova, a centre-left French think tank.
Presidential elections were held in Benin on 6 March 2016, having been delayed by one week due to logistical constraints. Incumbent President Thomas Boni Yayi was at the end of his second presidential term and was constitutionally barred from running for a third. The elections grabbed the interest of many of the country's top businessmen, resulting in over 30 candidates running for the presidency. A second round was held on 20 March, in which businessman Patrice Talon defeated Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou.
Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon is a Beninese businessman and politician who has been President of Benin since 6 April 2016.
Parliamentary elections were held in Benin on 28 April 2019.
