2026 Beninese parliamentary election

2026 Beninese parliamentary election

←  2023 11 January 2026 2030 →

All 109 seats in the National Assembly 55 seats needed for a majority

Party Leader Current seats Progressive Union Joseph Djogbenou 53 Republican Bloc Abdoulaye Bio Tchané 28 The Democrats Eric Houndété 28 Incumbent Speaker Louis Vlavonou UP

Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Benin on 11 January 2026, while the presidential elections take place on 12 April 2026 in accordance with the election code. ^{[1] [2]}

Background

As the 2023 parliamentary elections were won by pro-government parties, incumbent president Patrice Talon was expected to retain control of the government until his second term concludes in 2026. ^[3]

Electoral system

The 109 members of the National Assembly (increased from the prior election's 83) are elected by proportional representation in 24 multi-member constituencies, based on the country's departments, with seats allocated using the simple quotient and then the largest remainder method, ^[4] and an electoral threshold of 10%. A deposit of 249 million francs is required for a list to contest the elections. ^[5] Lists are required to put forward at least one candidate in all constituencies. Following the constitutional revision of 2019, ^[6] the mandate of deputies elected in the 2023 elections is reduced from four to three years, as a transitional measure, while the normal duration of the mandate in following elections is extended from four to five years. Following this, in January 2026, Benin will hold with new legislative and municipal elections combined with a presidential-vice-presidential election (for a five-year term) later in April. ^[7] The revision also introduces a total of 24 seats reserved for women, one per constituency, as well as a limit of three terms from the 2023 elections, without retroactive effect, for all MPs. ^[8]

References

1. "Election Observation Benin – BRIDGE" . Retrieved 17 April 2025.
2. "2026 General Elections in BeninRéseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement". RFLD. 2 January 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
3. "Législatives au Bénin: l'opposition de retour à l'Assemblée avec le parti Les Démocrates". Radio France Internationale. 11 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023..
4. Electoral system Archived 25 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine IPU
5. Bénin : le nouveau code électoral suscite la polémique Archived 1 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine Jeune Afrique, 27 September 2018
6. "Adoption de la loi de révision de la Constitution au Bénin: ce qui change". Radio France Internationale. 1 November 2019. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
7. "Au Bénin, la 9e législature fera un mandat de transition". Deutsche Welle. 2 January 2023. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
8. "Limitation du nombre des mandats électifs au Bénin: Quels candidats pour les législatives de 2023 et la présidentielle de 2026 ?". aCotonou. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.