Benin’s President Patrice Talon’s ruling coalition secured a sweeping victory in legislative elections, leaving the opposition entirely out of parliament.
The three-party bloc crushed the main opposition Democrats party on January 11, benefiting from a law requiring 20 percent of nationwide votes to win seats.
The Democrats managed only 16 percent across Benin’s 24 voting districts, according to provisional results released Saturday by the national electoral commission.
The victory strengthens Talon’s position ahead of April’s presidential election, where he is expected to hand power to his chosen successor, Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni.
Talon, 67, is barred by term limits from running again, while the Democrats failed to gather enough signatures to contest the presidential vote.
The same rule had previously blocked them from local elections held alongside the parliamentary contest on January 11.
Two major parties in the ruling coalition now control all seats in the National Assembly, consolidating authority over legislative affairs.
Voter turnout stood at 36.7 percent, roughly matching the 37 percent recorded in the 2023 legislative elections, officials said.
A November constitutional reform extended the presidential term to seven years, with a two-term limit, delaying future elections for several years.
Critics argued this reform placed “freedoms in quarantine,” warning it would restrict political competition across Benin after April’s polls.
The elections occurred in a tense climate, following a December 7 coup attempt by army mutineers quickly suppressed with regional support from Nigeria and France.
Talon’s decade-long rule oversaw strong economic growth, but critics accuse him of shrinking civic space and restricting political rights in Benin.
Ahead of the vote, Amnesty International’s Benin director, Dieudonne Dagbeto, condemned attacks on independent media and arbitrary arrests of dissenting voices.
Ruling coalition members dismissed these accusations, maintaining that political freedoms are respected under Talon’s administration.