Benin

National Assembly

Political system: Presidential system
Structure of parliament: Unicameral
IPU membership: Yes

Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections.

Results

About the election: Only two parties – both allied to President Patrice Talon – participated in the 2019 elections (see note), down from 20 in the previous elections held in 2015. Former Presidents Thomas Boni Yayi (Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin, FCBE) and Nicéphore Soglo called for an election boycott. Only 27.12% of the 4.9 million registered voters turned out at the polls, down from 65.88% recorded in 2015. Following the elections at the end of April, the two former Presidents demanded the cancellation of the election results. Hundreds of people demonstrated in the capital Cotonou, demanding the resignation of President Talon. On 2 May, soldiers fired shots and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators. At least two people died in clashes with police. Former President Yayi was placed under house arrest until 22 June, accused of inciting post-election violence.

The 2019 elections were the first to be held under President Talon (independent), who won the run-off presidential elections in March 2016, defeating the then Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou (FCBE). In 2018, the President announced constitutional reforms that would have introduced a gender quota and extended the parliamentary mandate from four to five years. However, the proposed amendments did not get the required majority in the National Assembly.

Note:

The 2019 elections were held under the new electoral code and the charter of political parties, adopted by the National Assembly in July and September 2018, respectively. The charter required political parties to conform to the new rules within six months of its promulgation (in September 2018), after which they would lose their legal status. Political parties which do not field candidates for two consecutive parliamentary elections would also lose their legal status.

In February 2019, the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security rejected the certificate of conformity application submitted by the FCBE. The election commission subsequently rejected the FCBE list for the 2019 elections along with several other lists (from both opposition and pro-presidential parties). Consequently, only two pro-presidential parties, namely the Progressive Union (UP, formed by former Speaker Bruno Amoussou) and the Republican Bloc (de facto led by Minister of State for Planning and Development Abdoulaye Bio Tchané), were qualified to field candidates in 2019. The UP groups together some 80 parties and political movements.

The new electoral code obliges parties to field candidates in all constituencies. Only lists that obtain at least 10% of valid votes cast at national level are entitled to seat allocation. The 10% threshold does not apply if fewer than four parties are eligible for seat allocation.
Number of parties winning seats: 2
Percentage of parties winning seats: 100.0%
Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition: 56.6%
Alternation of power after elections: Not applicable
Number of parties in government: 2
Names of parties in government: Progressive Union, Republican Bloc (BR)

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Parties or coalitions winning seats
Political group	Total
Progressive Union	47
Republican Bloc (BR)	36

Members elected, by sex

Number of men elected: 77
Number of women elected: 6
Percentage of women elected: 7.2%
Women Directly Elected: 6
Sources: National Assembly (13.05.2019, 29.07.2019)

Jeune Afrique

AFP

Reuters

Deutsche Welle

Aljazeera

New legislature

Total number of men after the election: 77
Total number of women after the election: 6
Percentage of women after the election: 7.2%
First-term parliamentarians: 42
Percentage of first-term parliamentarians: 50.6%
Date of the first session: 16 May 2019

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature: Louis Vlavonou (Male)
Political party: Progressive Union
Date of election: 18 May 2019

Benin

National Assembly

Election results

Background

Candidates

Voter turnout