Benin
National Assembly
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Political system
Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
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Presidential system
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Structure of parliament
Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
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Unicameral
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IPU membership
Current membership status
View field in the data dictionary -
Yes
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
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Assemblée nationale (National Assembly)
- Chamber name
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Assemblée nationale (National Assembly)
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Structure & status of parliament
This field is to indicate lower/upper in the back end.
View field in the data dictionary -
Lower chamber
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Parliamentary term (years)
Length of the parliamentary term in years
View field in the data dictionary -
4
Notes: 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).
IPU membership
- Affiliation periods
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1963
from 1981 to 1989
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.
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African Group
Speaker
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Official title
The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
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President of the National Assembly
- Speaker
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Gbèhounou Louis Vlavonou (Male)
Date of birth: 1953 -
Term
Start (and end) of the term of the Speaker
View field in the data dictionary -
18 May 2015
- Additional information
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Elected on 18 May 2019, re-elected on 12 Feb. 2023.
Speaker terms
No information available
Secretary general
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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.
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Secretary General
- Secretary General
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Mariano Afolabi Ogoutolou (Male)
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Term
Start (and end) of the term of the Secretary general
View field in the data dictionary -
14 Aug 2019
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Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
View field in the data dictionary -
Appointed on 14 Aug. 2019.
Members
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Statutory number of members
Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
View field in the data dictionary -
109
Notes:
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.
- Principal mode of designation of members
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Directly elected
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Directly elected members
Directly elected by citizens.
View field in the data dictionary -
109
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Current number of members
Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
View field in the data dictionary -
109
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Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
View field in the data dictionary -
80
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Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
View field in the data dictionary -
29
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Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
View field in the data dictionary -
26.6%
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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.
View field in the data dictionary -
109
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Population (in thousands)
Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects.
View field in the data dictionary -
14,111
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Inhabitants per parliamentarian
Calculated by dividing the population by the statutory number of parliamentarians.
View field in the data dictionary -
129,459
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.
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Average age of all members
Average age of members, for which data is available, at the time of the last election or renewal.
View field in the data dictionary -
53.9(2023-02)
- Youngest member
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Titilayo Adjai (Female)
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Youngest member (years)
Age is calculated at the time the member was elected/appointed to a new legislature. Data is not updated during the legislature unless the member is no longer a member.
View field in the data dictionary -
31
- Oldest member
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Cossi Barthélémy Mellon Vidjinnagni (Male)
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Oldest member (years)
Age is calculated at the time the member was elected/appointed to a new legislature. Data is not updated during the legislature unless the member is no longer a member.
View field in the data dictionary -
75
Number of members, by age (2023-02)
18 - 20 | 21 - 30 | 31 - 40 | 41 - 45 | 46 - 50 | 51 - 60 | 61 - 70 | 71 - 80 | 81 - 90 | 91 and over | Totals per gender | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 32 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 80 |
Female | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
Totals per age interval | 0 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 15 | 42 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 109 |
Total <= 45: 26 | Total >= 46: 83 |
Age at the last election or renewal | Overall | Male | Female |
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0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | |
6.4% | 3% | 3.7% | |
23.9% | 14% | 10.1% |
Reserved seats and quotas
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There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
View field in the data dictionary -
Yes
- Women
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24
Notes: 24 of the 109 seats in the National Assembly are reserved for women (one seat in each of the 24 constituencies across the country).
Sources: Article 144 of the 2019 Electoral Code.
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Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote gender-balanced representation in parliament
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Yes
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 country's 24 constituencies). Article 145 of the 2019 Electoral 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.
Sources:
https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas-database/country?country=24
Articles 144 and 145 of the Law No. 2019-43 of 15 November 2019, establishing the Electoral Code in the Republic of Benin.
Law no. 2019-44 of November 15, 2019 on the public funding of political parties in the Republic of Benin
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Youth quota
Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
View field in the data dictionary -
No
Links to additional information
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Parliamentary website
Link(s) to parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local languages.
View field in the data dictionary -
List of members
Link(s) to list of members on the parliamentary web site.
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Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Link(s) to Rules of procedure on the parliamentary web site in English, French and/or local language.
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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.
View field in the data dictionary