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

The National Assembly of Benin passed an amendment to the electoral law on 5 March. The amended law raises the threshold that parties must surpass in order to have any representation in the National Assembly from 10 per cent of the votes in an electoral district to 20 (though there is an exception for parties that join coalitions). It also raises the level of support needed to stand as a candidate for the presidency, now requiring that a candidate be sponsored by at least 15 per cent (up from 10) of the representatives and mayors across the country. The amendment limits the exercise of this sponsorship to presidential candidates who represent the same party as the sponsor. Critics of the amendments claim that the changes will entrench the current party system further. The amendments were reviewed by the Constitutional Court, which found them to comply with the constitution. The amended law was then promulgated by President Talon on 19 March. 

Sources: Présidence de la République, Jeune Afrique, La Nouvelle Tribune, L’Autre Quotidien 

Benin’s legislative elections on 8 January were closely watched as an indicator of the country’s democratic trajectory. Opposition parties had been prevented from participating in the last legislative elections in 2019, however five opposition parties were on the ballot in 2023. Most notably, the Democrats overcame procedural hurdles and won 28 seats in the 109-seat parliament. The two parties allied with President Talon, the Republican Bloc and the Progressive Union for Renewal, won 28 and 53 seats, respectively. Women’s representation also improved, with 28 women taking seats in the new parliament, 22 more than before. Opposition parties have levied accusations of electoral fraud. Observers from the Economic Community of West African States noted that the election was ‘conducted in a calm and peaceful atmosphere.’ Unlike the 2019 election, there was no violence, and no shutdown of the Internet. Turnout was reported to be 38.6 per cent of the registered voters. This is a significant increase from the 27.2 per cent who voted in 2019.

Sources: Le Monde, France24 (1), France24 (2), Al Jazeera, Economic Community of West African States, Institute for Security Studies, La Nouvelle Tribune

As Benin prepares for the January 2023 legislative elections, political parties were required to submit their candidate lists to the National Autonomous Electoral Commission (CENA) for verification. The inadmissibility of any candidate results in the rejection of the entire list. In the case of the opposition party, The Democrats, four candidates (out of 218) were found to be lacking certificates from the tax authority and the party list was rejected, potentially eliminating the party from contesting the election. However, the party appealed this decision to the Constitutional Court. On 19 November, the Court ruled in the party’s favour, requiring CENA to allow The Democrats to submit a new list of candidates. The second list was accepted as valid. This brings the number of parties contesting the legislative election to seven, including the main opposition parties.  

Sources: France24, Cadena de Ondas Populares Españolas, Anadolu Agency, Deutsche Welle