Voters in Benin will vote on Sunday to elect a new president as outgoing leader Patrice Talon steps down after a decade in power with a mixed legacy of economic growth, but also a growing jihadi insurgency in the north and a clamp down on the opposition and critics.
Romuald Wadagni, the 49-year-old finance minister and governing coalition standard-bearer, is considered Talon’s anointed successor. Wadagni is being challenged by Paul Hounkpè, the sole opposition candidate.
In the parliamentary election in January, the opposition failed to cross the 20% electoral threshold required to win seats, leaving Talon’s two allied parties in control of all 109 seats in the National Assembly and in good position before Sunday’s vote.
Renaud Agbodjo, leader of The Democrats, was barred from competing after failing to secure a sufficient number of parliamentary endorsements — a threshold critics say was engineered to keep rivals out.
Fiacre Vidjingninou, political analyst at the Lagos-based Béhanzin Institute said, with the main opposition sidelined, Wadagni is widely considered a favorite due in part to his strong economic track record and broad support from influential figures across historically rival camps.
“Ten years at the Finance Ministry have given him something rare in African politics: a quantified record — verifiable and difficult to dismantle in a serious debate,” Vidjingninou said.
The first round of the vote is set for April 12. In order to secure an outright victory, the winner would need to secure at least 50% of the votes. If that doesn’t happen, a runoff will be conducted on May 10 between the top two candidates.
Nearly 8 million people are eligible to vote in the election.
Esther Ndu
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