Benin
Benin exhibits mid-range performance across all four categories of the Global State of Democracy Framework. Compared to five years prior, it has experienced declines in Civic Engagement but has improved in Absence of Corruption, reflecting recent efforts to crack down on graft. Economically, Benin remains reliant on the export of unprocessed agricultural products—particularly cotton—as well as gold mining.
Benin, formerly known as Dahomey, was at one time one of the great kingdoms of West Africa. The country gradually came under the control of the French starting in the 1600s and became an independent nation in 1960. Benin’s former president Mathieu Kérékou, who initially ruled under a Marxist-Leninist regime from 1972, oversaw the country’s transition to multi-party democracy. In 1991, Kérékou became the first West African leader to concede defeat at the ballot box, marking a historic moment of peaceful power transfer in the region. This helped position Benin as an early democratic example in West Africa.
Since 2016, however, the government has been criticized for undermining political institutions by coopting the legislature, subverting the independence of the judiciary and suppressing the media. The 2018 electoral reforms imposed stringent new procedural requirements that disadvantaged opposition parties, preventing them from participating in the 2019 legislative elections. The exclusion of the opposition parties led to record low voter turnout, large-scale protests, arbitrary arrests, and an Internet shutdown. Subsequent elections, including for local government and for the presidency in 2020 and 2021, respectively, further cemented the governing party’s power.
Despite the obstacles presented by the revised electoral code, three opposition parties were approved by the constitutional court to participate in the 2023 legislative election, with the largest of these achieving the minimum 10 per cent vote share needed to win seats in the 109-member National Assembly. The government has said that its electoral and judicial reforms are meant to modernize the country, end corruption and inefficiency and provide incentives for politicians to work across ethnic lines and form broader coalitions.
More than fifty ethnic groups are present in Benin, with the Fon being the largest (38.4 per cent of the population). Interethnic and communal violence have been concerning, particularly in the north, where there are disputes over agricultural land ownership and tensions between farmers and herders. Similarly, the entrenched presence of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin along Benin’s northern border, has fueled the country’s escalating security crisis, threatening both civilian and military populations.
Corruption and slow development have also long been challenges. Despite growth in economic output, povertyand hunger remains widespread. Issues of social inequity are also salient in Benin; people with albinism regularly face discrimination. While progress has occurred on women’s rights issues, including under its first elected female vice president, rates of gender-based violence remain high. Same-sex relations are not criminalized, but LGBTQIA+ people face stigma and discrimination from both the public and police.
Looking ahead, it will be important to watch Representation and Rights, especially in light of the return of opposition parties to parliament for the first time in four years. The 2026 presidential election, when the current president will be term-limited, will be an important time to assess the country’s democratic performance. Finally, it will also be important to monitor Personal Integrity and Security in light of the transnational dimension of the terrorism threat in the Sahel region broadly, and in Benin more specifically.
Last updated: June 2025
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/
April 2025
Al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM claims Benin’s deadliest attack, killing 54 soldiers
On 17 April, al-Qaeda-linked Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for an ambush on military posts in W National Park, near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. The group said it had killed 70 soldiers, while government spokesperson Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji confirmed 54 deaths at a press briefing on 23 April. Authorities had initially reported eight fatalities. The attack is the deadliest on Benin’s armed forces to date and follows another JNIM-claimed assault in January in the Alibori department that killed 28 soldiers. Based in Mali, JNIM has expanded its operations into neighbouring states, fuelling Benin’s escalating security crisis, which increasingly threatens both military and civilian populations.
Sources: Le Monde, British Broadcasting Corporation, La Nation, International IDEA
March 2025
Bénin Web TV suspended indefinitely over budget report
On 12 March, Benin’s media regulator, the High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC), issued an indefinite suspension of privately owned news site Bénin Web TV, after the outlet aired a program that reported on the regulator’s budget. HAAC accused the outlet of broadcasting ‘false information’ and ‘seriously undermining the institution's credibility.’ Bénin Web TV published three letters from HAAC alongside responses from its own director, Paul Arnaud Deguenon, explaining that the outlet’s reporting was based on HAAC’s own 2025 budget presentation and public statement. HAAC also withdrew Deguenon’s press card. The suspension appears to contravene HAAC’s own 2023 authorization of Bénin Web TV’s operations, which stipulates that suspensions for failing to comply with official warnings may not exceed one month. This follows its suspension of six other media outlets in January, a decision that has not yet been reversed.
Sources: Benin Web TV, High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) (1), HAAC (2), HAAC (3), West Africa Democracy Radio, Committee to Protect Journalists
January 2025
Deadliest attack on Beninese security forces recorded
On 8 January, al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) fighters launched a mass attack on a military base in northern Benin’s Alibori department, killing at least 28 soldiers and burning down the site. The assault, the deadliest ever suffered by the Beninese armed forces, underscores the country’s growing security challenges amid increasing attacks in the northern region linked to jihadist groups based in neighbouring countries. In response, the military claim to have launched a counter-offensive, reportedly killing 40 jihadists. On 13 January, the army convened an extraordinary military council, highlighting recruitment and equipment issues impeding counter-insurgency efforts. More than 120 Beninese soldiers are thought to have been killed in similar attacks between 2021 and December 2024.
Sources: International Crisis Group, Jeune Afrique, Punch Nigeria, British Broadcasting Corporation, Agence de Presse Africaine News
September 2024
Coup plot thwarted as ex-minister, businessman and military commander arrested
On 25 September, authorities in Benin anounced that they had thwarted a coup attempt aimed at overthrowing the government, which they said has been planned for 27 September. Former Sports Minister Oswald Homeky, businessman Olivier Boko, and the head of the Republican Guard – who is also responsible for President Patrice Talon's security – were arrested on suspicion of involvement and taken into custody. The arrests were preceded by the commencement of an ongoing state investigation, which allegedly found that Homeky and Boko bribed Republican Guard commander Djimon Dieudonne Tevoedjre to not resist the coup. The involvement of high-ranking figures raises concerns about the potential for future political instability.
Sources: BBC, Reuters, News Central, Africa News, Anadolu Agency
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