{"id":1878837,"date":"2026-04-12T13:38:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T10:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1878837"},"modified":"2026-04-12T13:38:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T10:38:52","slug":"benin-heads-to-the-polls-to-elect-a-new-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1878837","title":{"rendered":"Benin heads to the polls to elect a new president"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76753621_6.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5C3HK<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
Nearly 8 million people are eligable to vote in BeninImage: Olympia De Maismont\/AFP<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Voters in Benin<\/a> headed to the polls to elect a new president on Sunday, with Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni expected to coast to victory.<\/p>\n

Nearly eight million voters are eligible to cast ballots to choose a successor to Patrice Talon, Benin’s outgoing president who is stepping down after reaching his limit of\u00a0two five-year terms and surviving a coup attempt<\/a> last December.<\/p>\n

Who are the contenders?<\/h2>\n

Talon has endorsed his 49-year-old finance minister Romuald Wadagni to lead the next government.<\/p>\n

In his previous role, Wadagni oversaw a decade of consistent growth above 6% each year \u2014 a legacy he has campaigned on continuing.<\/p>\n

“We are going to move forward, go even further with what began before your very eyes,” he told supporters in Cotonou.<\/p>\n

\"Romuald
Romuald Wadagni has promised to keep up Benin’s steady economic growthImage: Abadjaye Justin Sodogandji\/AP Photo\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The main opposition party, the Democrats, is not fielding a candidate after its leader Renaud Agbodjo failed to secure enough parliamentary endorsements get his name on the ballot.<\/p>\n

The only other candidate on the ballot is Paul Hounkpe of the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin.<\/p>\n

Hounkpe has a much lower profile but has argued that growth under Talon and Wadagni has not improved the lives of ordinary Beninese people.<\/p>\n

“If we make progress but \u200bnone of us can afford three meals a day, we haven’t made any progress. Yes or no?” he said at a rally earlier this month.<\/p>\n

\"A
Paul Hounkpe is the only opposition candidate on the ballotImage: Abadjaye Justin Sodogandji\/AP Photo\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Results due within days<\/h2>\n

Benin has for years been among the most stable democracies in Africa, but critics argue that the electoral qualification rules were engineered to sideline rivals to Talon<\/a> and his chosen successor.<\/p>\n

Substantial election monitoring delegations have been sent by the Economic Community of West African States<\/a> (ECOWAS), the African Union and the European Union.<\/p>\n

The ECOWAS delegation was headed by former Ghanian President Nana Akufo-Addo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We hope a maximum of Beninese will come out to make their choice today” he told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n

Polls are expected to close at 4 p.m. local time with the results expected within 48 hours.<\/p>\n

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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Voters in Benin<\/a> headed to the polls to elect a new president on Sunday, with Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni expected to coast to victory.<\/p>\n

Nearly eight million voters are eligible to cast ballots to choose a successor to Patrice Talon, Benin’s outgoing president who is stepping down after reaching his limit of\u00a0two five-year terms and surviving a coup attempt<\/a> last December.<\/p>\n

Who are the contenders?<\/h2>\n

Talon has endorsed his 49-year-old finance minister Romuald Wadagni to lead the next government.<\/p>\n

In his previous role, Wadagni oversaw a decade of consistent growth above 6% each year \u2014 a legacy he has campaigned on continuing.<\/p>\n

“We are going to move forward, go even further with what began before your very eyes,” he told supporters in Cotonou.<\/p>\n

\"Romuald
Romuald Wadagni has promised to keep up Benin’s steady economic growthImage: Abadjaye Justin Sodogandji\/AP Photo\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The main opposition party, the Democrats, is not fielding a candidate after its leader Renaud Agbodjo failed to secure enough parliamentary endorsements get his name on the ballot.<\/p>\n

The only other candidate on the ballot is Paul Hounkpe of the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin.<\/p>\n

Hounkpe has a much lower profile but has argued that growth under Talon and Wadagni has not improved the lives of ordinary Beninese people.<\/p>\n

“If we make progress but \u200bnone of us can afford three meals a day, we haven’t made any progress. Yes or no?” he said at a rally earlier this month.<\/p>\n

\"A
Paul Hounkpe is the only opposition candidate on the ballotImage: Abadjaye Justin Sodogandji\/AP Photo\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Results due within days<\/h2>\n

Benin has for years been among the most stable democracies in Africa, but critics argue that the electoral qualification rules were engineered to sideline rivals to Talon<\/a> and his chosen successor.<\/p>\n

Substantial election monitoring delegations have been sent by the Economic Community of West African States<\/a> (ECOWAS), the African Union and the European Union.<\/p>\n

The ECOWAS delegation was headed by former Ghanian President Nana Akufo-Addo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We hope a maximum of Beninese will come out to make their choice today” he told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n

Polls are expected to close at 4 p.m. local time with the results expected within 48 hours.<\/p>\n

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Voters in Benin<\/a> headed to the polls to elect a new president on Sunday, with Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni expected to coast to victory.<\/p>\n

Nearly eight million voters are eligible to cast ballots to choose a successor to Patrice Talon, Benin’s outgoing president who is stepping down after reaching his limit of\u00a0two five-year terms and surviving a coup attempt<\/a> last December.<\/p>\n

Talon has endorsed his 49-year-old finance minister Romuald Wadagni to lead the next government.<\/p>\n

In his previous role, Wadagni oversaw a decade of consistent growth above 6% each year \u2014 a legacy he has campaigned on continuing.<\/p>\n

“We are going to move forward, go even further with what began before your very eyes,” he told supporters in Cotonou.<\/p>\n

The main opposition party, the Democrats, is not fielding a candidate after its leader Renaud Agbodjo failed to secure enough parliamentary endorsements get his name on the ballot.<\/p>\n

The only other candidate on the ballot is Paul Hounkpe of the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin.<\/p>\n

Hounkpe has a much lower profile but has argued that growth under Talon and Wadagni has not improved the lives of ordinary Beninese people.<\/p>\n

“If we make progress but \u200bnone of us can afford three meals a day, we haven’t made any progress. Yes or no?” he said at a rally earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Benin has for years been among the most stable democracies in Africa, but critics argue that the electoral qualification rules were engineered to sideline rivals to Talon<\/a> and his chosen successor.<\/p>\n

Substantial election monitoring delegations have been sent by the Economic Community of West African States<\/a> (ECOWAS), the African Union and the European Union.<\/p>\n

The ECOWAS delegation was headed by former Ghanian President Nana Akufo-Addo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We hope a maximum of Beninese will come out to make their choice today” he told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n

Polls are expected to close at 4 p.m. local time with the results expected within 48 hours.<\/p>\n

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez<\/em><\/p>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76753621_6.jpg”] https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5C3HK Nearly 8 million people are eligable to vote in BeninImage: Olympia De Maismont\/AFP Voters in Benin headed to the polls to elect a new president on Sunday, with Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni expected to coast to victory. Nearly eight million voters are eligible to cast ballots to choose a successor to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,74],"class_list":["post-1878837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dw-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1878837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1878837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1878837\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1878837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1878837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1878837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}