SHARECountry Data
Benin (Republic of Benin) has a Unicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas and legislated quotas for the single/lower house. 28 of 109 (26%) seats in the Assemblee nationale / National Assembly are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Unicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? Yes
- For the Sub-National Level?
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? Yes
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Jan 17, 2023
Single/Lower House
Assemblee nationale / National Assembly
| Total seats | 109 |
| Total Women | 28 |
| % Women | 26% |
| Election Year | 2023 |
| Electoral System | List PR |
| Quota Type | Reserved seats |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Electoral law | The number of deputies in the National Assembly is one hundred and nine (109) with twenty-four (24) seats reserved exclusively for women (Art. 144, Loi N. 2019-43 du 15 Novembre 2019). Article 145 of the Code requires political parties to present their lists of candidates in all electoral constituencies. Each list must include the same number of candidates as there are seats to be filled, including one woman and her substitute, specially presented under the reserved seats section. |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | No data available | |
| Rank order/placement rules | No data available | |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No | BLANK See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | No | BLANK See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican Bloc | Bloc Républicain [BR] | Offices of the bodies of the party must be composed, as much as possible, of 30% youth and 30% women members (Article 51 of the Party Statute). |
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional Information
There should be more women in parliament: this was the consensus of a parliamentary conference organized by the IPU and the National Assembly in Cotonou, Benin, from 18 to 19 January 2018. Women’s representation in parliament has been traditionally low in Benin. The conference therefore reviewed way in which to boost the percentage in view of impending elections in April 2019.
Solutions included establishing a minimum representation for each gender on electoral lists; modifying the electoral code to provide for additional reserves of parliamentary seats for women; possibly including affirmative action in the constitution; and organizing awareness raising and training programmes involving the government and civil society (IPU, February 2018).
Sources
OFFICIAL SOURCES:
- Benin Elecotral Code - Loi N. 2019-43 du 15 Novembre 2019 (French version)
- Consitution of Benin of 1990 (English version)
- Republican Bloc Party - Statutes
OTHER SOURCES:
- Inter-Parliamentary Union [IPU] Parline - Benin Country Profile
Additional reading
- World Bank. (December 16, 2021). Benin: $100 million to reinforce women's empowerment, access to electricity and fiscal management. Press release. [Last accessed: 2022-02-03]
- Reuther, J. (2019). Women in Benin. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.570
- Kang, A. (2015). Benin: Women Judges Promoting Women’s Rights. In Bauer, G. & Dawuni, J. (2015): Gender and the Judiciary in Africa: From obscurity to parity? Routledge.
- UN Women. (n.d.). Benin commits to ongoing programmes for women in political and private sector leadership. [Last accessed: 2022-02-03]