Parties aligned with President Patrice Talon have won all seats in Benin’s National Assembly following last week’s legislative elections, according to provisional results announced by the electoral commission.
The commission said late on Saturday that only two of the five parties contesting the January 11 vote secured representation in the 109-seat assembly: the Progressive Union for Renewal and the Republican Bloc, both allied with Talon.
Under the results, the Progressive Union for Renewal will hold 60 seats, while the Republican Bloc will control the remaining 49 seats.
Benin’s current electoral code requires parties to secure at least 20% of the national vote and a minimum of 20% in each of the country’s 24 electoral districts to qualify for seat allocation.
The main opposition party, The Democrats, obtained around 16% of the vote, failing to meet the threshold and losing all parliamentary representation.
The outcome strengthens the ruling bloc ahead of the presidential election scheduled for April. Talon, 67, who has ruled Benin for a decade, is barred from seeking another term under constitutional term limits.
His chosen successor, Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is widely expected to run. The Democrats are excluded from the presidential race after failing to gather the required number of endorsements to register a candidate.
The same endorsement rule also prevented the opposition party from participating in municipal elections held alongside the legislative vote.
“These results confirm the struggle that our party has been waging for about two years,” Guy Mitokpe, spokesperson for The Democrats, said, according to The Associated Press.
“We denounced this electoral code, saying that it heavily favours parties aligned with the president. It is an exclusionary electoral code. As proof, we will not have a candidate in the presidential election, and we were excluded from the municipal elections,” he added.
Voter turnout stood at 36.7%, election officials said, roughly in line with the 37% recorded in the previous legislative elections in 2023.
The vote took place weeks after a brief but deadly military coup attempt on December 7 aimed at overthrowing Talon, which authorities said was foiled within hours.
Under a constitutional reform adopted in November, Benin extended the presidential term to seven years, with a two term limit.
