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Benin

Monthly Event Reports

January 2023 | Governing parties maintain majority in legislature, but opposition gains representation

Benin’s legislative elections on 8 January were closely watched as an indicator of the country’s democratic trajectory. Opposition parties had been prevented from participating in the last legislative elections in 2019, however five opposition parties were on the ballot in 2023. Most notably, the Democrats overcame procedural hurdles and won 28 seats in the 109-seat parliament. The two parties allied with President Talon, the Republican Bloc and the Progressive Union for Renewal, won 28 and 53 seats, respectively. Women’s representation also improved, with 28 women taking seats in the new parliament, 22 more than before. Opposition parties have levied accusations of electoral fraud. Observers from the Economic Community of West African States noted that the election was ‘conducted in a calm and peaceful atmosphere.’ Unlike the 2019 election, there was no violence, and no shutdown of the Internet. Turnout was reported to be 38.6 per cent of the registered voters. This is a significant increase from the 27.2 per cent who voted in 2019.

November 2022 | Opposition party candidate list accepted ahead of January election

As Benin prepares for the January 2023 legislative elections, political parties were required to submit their candidate lists to the National Autonomous Electoral Commission (CENA) for verification. The inadmissibility of any candidate results in the rejection of the entire list. In the case of the opposition party, The Democrats, four candidates (out of 218) were found to be lacking certificates from the tax authority and the party list was rejected, potentially eliminating the party from contesting the election. However, the party appealed this decision to the Constitutional Court. On 19 November, the Court ruled in the party’s favour, requiring CENA to allow The Democrats to submit a new list of candidates. The second list was accepted as valid. This brings the number of parties contesting the legislative election to seven, including the main opposition parties.  

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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
12 451 030
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
President Patrice Talon (since 2016)
Head of government party
Independent
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
7.4%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2023
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
1.97
Head of state
President Patrice Talon
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
10/11/2017
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
96.46%
Population Tooltip
12 451 030
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
President Patrice Talon (since 2016)
Head of government party
Independent
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
7.4%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2023
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
1.97
Head of state
President Patrice Talon
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
10/11/2017
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
96.46%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
State Party
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
State Party
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
State Party
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time

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