In Benin, CENA has declared the provisional results of the 2023 legislative elections

The president of the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA), Sacca Lafia gave in the afternoon of Wednesday 11 January, the provisional results of the legislative elections of Sunday 08 January 2023. According to these major trends, three political parties out of the seven in the running will have seats in the Beninese parliament for the next three years.

The first inclusive elections in the era of Patrice Talon, the incumbent president since 2016, these provisional results reflect the will of the Beninese to return to the path of democracy. Indeed, according to the figures communicated by the chairman of ANEC, the Union Progressiste le Renouveau (UPR), the Bloc Républicain (BR) and Les Démocrates (LD) are the three political formations that will compose the next legislature. Thus, out of the 109 seats at stake, the Union Progressiste le Renouveau obtained 53 seats, while the Bloc républicain came out on top with 28 seats. The only opposition party, the Democrats, also won 28 seats. The seats are distributed among the 24 electoral districts in Benin.

At least 10% of the votes cast

The other four parties failed to obtain at least 10% of the votes cast nationally according to the electoral code. The latter stipulates that only lists with at least 10% of the valid votes cast at national level are eligible for the allocation of seats. As a result, the turnout on Sunday 8 January was 38.66% nationwide. 37.56% for UP le Renouveau; 29.17% for the Bloc Républicain and 24.02% for Les Démocrates. Meanwhile, the “Forces Cauris pour un Bénin émergent” (Fcbe) got 4.44%; the “Mouvement des élites engagées pour l’émancipation du Bénin” (Moele Bénin) got 2.28%; the “Mouvement populaire de libération” (MPL) got 1.28% and the “Union démocratique pour un Benn nouveau” (Udbn) got 1.07%.

In 2019, Benin revised its electoral code, increasing the number of elected representatives from 83 to 109 in the National Assembly. These changes in the electoral law prescribed a quota of seats reserved for women. With this law, at least 24 women MPs will sit in this 9th legislature. This is a first since the advent of democracy in Benin.

Benin back on the road to democracy

Moreover, even if any political party retains an absolute majority in the next parliament, it must be said that the UPR and the BR are two parties at the service of President Talon. As a result, they have the opportunity to pass laws in the Assembly. After having missed the previous election, the Democrats are back in the race with 28 representatives in the hemicycle. Unless I am mistaken, the Beninese will again have the opportunity to witness heated debates in parliament between members of the opposition and those of the ruling party; welcome to democracy. All in all, the new configuration of the Beninese parliament is acceptable compared to the previous scheme where the deputies were all in favour of President Talon.

It should be noted that these results are only provisional; it is up to the Constitutional Court to proclaim the final results.