Benin
National Assembly
About parliament
Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.
Parliament name
Assemblée nationale (National Assembly)
Chamber name
Assemblée nationale (National Assembly)
Parliamentary term (years)
4
IPU membership
Affiliation periods
from 1963 to 1964
from 1981 to 1990
from 1992
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
African Group
Speaker
Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
President of the National Assembly
Speaker
Gbèhounou Louis
Vlavonou
(Male)
Year of birth
1953
Term
18.05.2015
Additional information
Elected on 18 May 2019, re-elected on 12 Feb. 2023.
Secretary General
Official title
This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
Secretary General
Secretary General
Mariano
Afolabi Ogoutolou
(Male)
Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
Appointed on 14 Aug. 2019.
Members
Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Compare data of this field.
Directly elected members
Directly elected by citizens.
109
Note on the statutory number of members
In accordance with article 144 of the 2019 Electoral Code, the statutory number of members has increased from 83 to 109; 24 of the 109 seats are reserved exclusively for women (art. 144).
Article 80 of the 2019 law that amended the Constitution stipulates that the term of the deputies’ mandates is five years, renewable twice.
In accordance with article 80 of the 2019 law that amended the Constitution, National Assembly members serve a five-year term instead of four, as previously. However, to organize general elections in 2026, members elected in 2023 will serve a three-year term. Their term will expire on the date when the deputies elected in January 2026 enter into office (see article 208 of the 2019 Electoral Code).
See historical data for this field.
Article 80 of the 2019 law that amended the Constitution stipulates that the term of the deputies’ mandates is five years, renewable twice.
In accordance with article 80 of the 2019 law that amended the Constitution, National Assembly members serve a five-year term instead of four, as previously. However, to organize general elections in 2026, members elected in 2023 will serve a three-year term. Their term will expire on the date when the deputies elected in January 2026 enter into office (see article 208 of the 2019 Electoral Code).
Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
Statutory number of members per country
As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
Population (in thousands)
Click for historical data
See historical data for this field.
Age
Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.
Average age of all members
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
Youngest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
Youngest member
Titilayo Adjai (Female)
Number of members, by age
| 18 - 20 | 21 - 30 | 31 - 40 | 41 - 45 | 46 - 50 | 51 - 60 | 61 - 70 | 71 - 80 | 81 - 90 | 91 and over | Totals per gender | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals per age interval | 0 | 0 | 6 | 19 | 16 | 41 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total <= 45: 25 | Total >= 46: 84 | ||||||||||
| Male | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 31 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 80 |
| Female | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
Members for whom data is available
Reserved seats and quotas
There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
Number of reserved seats, by group
Women
24
Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Notes
In accordance with article 144 of the 2019 Electoral Code, 24 of the 109 seats in the National Assembly are reserved for women (one seat in each of the 24 constituencies across the country).
Article 145 of the Code requires political parties to present their lists of candidates in all electoral constituencies. Each list must include the same number of candidates as there are seats to be filled, including one woman and her substitute, specially presented under the reserved seats section.
Article 145 of the Code requires political parties to present their lists of candidates in all electoral constituencies. Each list must include the same number of candidates as there are seats to be filled, including one woman and her substitute, specially presented under the reserved seats section.
Legal source
Legal text that stipulates the quota, such as the Constitution or electoral law.
Articles 144 and 145 of the 2019 Electoral Code (Loi N 2019 - 43 du 15 novembre 2019 portant code électoral)
Electoral quota for youth
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
Links to additional information
Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Link(s) to Rules of procedure on the parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local language.
List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
Constitution
Official links to the Constitution in English, French and/or original language is provided. Links to unofficial translations where no other source is available.