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12 April 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
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 Africaportal |
Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Benin on 12 April 2026 following parliamentary elections on 11 January in accordance with the election code. [1] [2] President Patrice Talon, currently serving his second and final constitutional term, has repeatedly stated that he does not intend to amend the constitution to seek re-election. [3]
The president of Benin is elected by a two-round system to a five-year term. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, the top-two candidates compete in a second round organized within fifteen days of the first round. Presidents are limited to two terms, even if they are non-successive. [4] After a constitutional amendment adopted in November 2019, each presidential candidate has to run with a vice-presidential running mate. This running mate also has a five-year term and is charged with completing the president's term in case of impeachment or other impediment. [5]
Candidates for the presidency have to be a Beninese citizen, either by birth or from having lived in Benin for the past ten years, be of "good character and great probity", have all their civil and political rights, be between the ages of 40 and 70, and submit to a physical and mental assessment by three doctors sworn in by the Constitutional Court. [4] A 2019 constitutional amendment also requires candidates to be nominated by no less than 10% of the total of Members of Parliament and Mayors, or about 16 officials. [6]
In September 2025 the ruling coalition in the National Assembly, consisting of Progressive Union Renewal and the Republican Bloc, nominated Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as a candidate for the elections, with Talon confirming he would not seek a third term. [7] CENA later declared that only Wadagni and Paul Hounkpè, and their running mates, met the requirements to run. [8] An appeal by Renaud Agbodjo of Les Démocrates, the main opposition party, who failed to meet requirements such as sufficient sponsorship and payment of the registration fee, was rejected by the court on 27 October. [8] [9]
Source: [8]
As President:
As Vice-President:
As President:
As Vice-President:
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