Protecting elections in Benin: An integrated approach

From 26-28 August 2025, International IDEA, in partnership with the Electoral Commission (CENA) of Benin, organized two events in Cotonou, Benin. The first event was a Protecting Elections Workshop, which brought together electoral management bodies (EMBs) and other electoral stakeholders to jointly map challenges to electoral integrity and identify courses of action. The second event was a Protecting Elections Training Workshop, designed to improve the skills of participants to design and apply measures for protecting elections against risks, threats, and crises, in a way that is gender sensitive and inclusive.  The workshops were organized as part of International IDEA’s collaboration with Réseau des Compétences Electorales Francophones’ (RECEF) and through the support of Global Affairs Canada. 

The workshops were attended by approximately 40 participants from the CENA and other electoral stakeholders such as the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice, Haute Autorité de l’Audiovisuel et de la communication (HAAC), Mediateur de la République, Ministry of Interior Affairs, National Police, Agence Nationale d’Identification des Personnes (ANIP) and civil society organizations such as Africa Election such as ONG FORAD, Social Watch Benin, Front des Organisations Nationales Association de Lutte contre la Corruption (FONAC), Plateforme Electorales des OSC, Démocratie dans le Monde (DDM) and the MDN.

The Protecting Elections workshop on 26 August created a space where participants in breakout groups and plenaries could compare notes and jointly identify the main internal (process-related) and external (context-related) electoral risk factors. Next, the electoral risk heat-map was introduced and used to estimate the likelihood and impact of individual risk factors. Based on the assigned heat levels, the groups could identify appropriate courses of action.

The Protecting Elections Capacity Building workshop was held between 27 and 28 August, combining expert presentations, break-out sessions, icebreakers, brainstorming, reflective discussions, screening of educational videos, and an extensive tabletop exercise. The workshop utilised the Protecting Elections Curriculum, which is based on an activity-based, inquiry learning approach. The methodology combines participatory adult education techniques to convey clearly identified key understandings and learning outcomes. Before the workshop, participants were encouraged to complete an e-learning course on the topic. The training workshop provided a safe space to learn about risk management in elections, resilience building, and crisis management, reflect on risk, threat, and crisis, and forge inter-agency shared understandings.  For an overview of the workshop, watch our video on YouTube.

International IDEA, with the support of Global Affairs Canada, has developed an Integrated Framework for Protecting Elections, comprised of knowledge resources, self-assessment, and training materials. These can inspire, enable, and empower EMBs and other stakeholders to protect the integrity of electoral processes. The Framework promotes and supports gender sensitivity, collaboration, and informed decision-making. For more information about the framework and partners, visit our project page.