Electoral Process in Benin – World Countries for Kids

Benin was once among the most stable democracies in sub-Saharan Africa, but President Patrice Talon started using the justice system to attack his political adversaries after taking office in 2016, and electoral rules and a clampdown on his political adversaries allowed him to consolidate his power in 2021. Deadly police violence at political demonstrations, arrests of activists, and other constraints on civil liberties have become progressively problematic in recent years, though the 2023 electoral period was marked by comparatively less violence and slightly more opposition participation. The largely ceremonial position of vice president was created in 2019 via constitutional amendments. Mariam ChabiTalata, Talon’s running mate in 2021, was the first to hold the office.

The president is elected by popular vote and serves as both the head of governmentand chief of state. Two term restriction is in place for the post of president. In 2021, Patrice Talon got re-elected with 86 percent of the vote. The authorities had arrested, disqualified, or forced into exile the major opposition candidates, leaving only two rivals who posed no significant competition. Elected members of pro=government parties enjoyed veto power over which candidates qualified for the ballot, and some opposition parties boycotted the election. Security forces reacted to non-violent protests with at times lethal means, leading to at least five deaths. Official turnout was 50 percent, a historic low for the nation’s multiparty presidential contests; civil society groups estimated turnout at low 26 percent. Observers labelled election day as “calm” and “orderly.”

Delegates to the 109-member, unicameral National Assembly are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms. In the January 2023 election, seven parties took part, including three opposition parties, an improvement from 2019 when only two pro-government parties were permitted. The BR and the UPR got 81 seats. The rest 28 were won by the main opposition party, the Democrats.

Opposition parties claimed that fraud had happened. Observers from the Economic Community of West African States termed the contest calm. Contrary to the 2019 election, there was no violence, nor were there internet-access restraints. Official turnout was 37.8 percent, up from low 27.1 percent in 2019 but well below the turnout of prior elections.

The National Assembly adopted constitutional amendments including provisions putting three-term limits on legislators, expanding the body from 83 to 109 seats, and extending duration of terms to five years from the year 2026 to align them with those of the president. This happened in 2021.

Elections are steered by the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA), which has a five-year mandate and is controlled by Talon appointees and allies. Post the passage of a restrictive electoral law in 2018, the Constitutional Court ruled that parties must obtain a “certificate of conformity” from the Interior Ministry. The disqualifications of opposition parties in the 2019 legislative and 2020 local elections let members of Talon’s party to debar all but two candidates for the 2021 presidential election, due to a 2019 amendment needing presidential candidates to be validated by 10 percent of mayors and the National Assembly members.