Benin
Electoral Institution
The Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA)
Population:
12,031,735
Eligible Voting Population:
4,992,399
Minimum Voter's Age:
18
Political Regime
Benin is a multiparty republic with a presidential system, where the president is both head of state and head of government.
Number of Political Parties:
13 regularly registered (Ministry of Interior February 2020)
Number of Election Held
General elections : 14 (1960*, 1964*, 1968, 1970, 1980*, 1984*, 1989*, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021) Parliamentary elections: 15 (1959, 1960, 1964, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023) Municipal elections : 4 (2002, 2008, 2015, 2020) Referendums: 4 (1958, 1964, 1968, 1990)
When are the Next Elections?
Based on the new electoral code, there will be cumulated legislative and presidential elections in 2021 (Election of the president and vice president, and election of the members of the Assembly).
Proclaimed as Republic on 4 December 1958, Benin acceded to international sovereignty on August 1, 1960 under the name of Dahomey. The Republic of Benin is known for the "exemplary" nature of its democratic process, which began in February 1990, as a result of the National Conference of Vital Forces. Generally, the contemporary political history of the country can be sequenced in three major periods: The period of political instability, the militaristic-Marxist period, and the period of democratic renewal. Since the latter, several presidential, legislative and local elections have sanctioned the devolution of political power. In thirty years, political liberalism has generated five alternations at the head of the State, namely: Kerekou (1990-1991); Soglo (1991-1996); Kerekou (1996-2006) Yayi Boni (2006-2016) and Patrice Talon (2016- to the present).