Dakar, Senegal — Voters in Benin voted on Sunday to choose a successor to President Patrice Talon, who is leaving a mixed legacy of economic growth, a growing jihadist insurgency in the north and repression of opposition critics after a decade in power.
Romuald Vadagni, the 49-year-old finance minister and standard-bearer of the ruling coalition, is considered Talon’s anointed successor. Vadagni is being challenged by the sole opposition candidate, Paul Hounkpe.
Nearly 8 million people are registered to vote at more than 17,000 polling stations in the West African nation. Benin had over 1.5 million people in 2024, and like many sub-Saharan African countries, its population is overwhelmingly young. Voting is expected to close at 4 pm and results are expected within 48 hours.
Analysts widely expect Vadagni to win parliamentary elections in January, during which the opposition failed to overcome the 20% threshold required to win seats, leaving Talon’s two allied parties in control of all 109 seats in the National Assembly.
Renaud Agbodjo, the leader of the Democrats, was barred from competing after failing to garner enough parliamentary support – a move critics say was designed to keep rivals out.
Vadagni has cited the country’s economic growth as his key strength during his decade as Finance Minister. Benin’s economy grew 7% last year, making it one of West Africa’s most stable performers.
“Ten years at the finance ministry have given him something rare in African politics: a quantitative record – verifiable and difficult to overstate in serious debate,” said Fiacre Widzinginou, a political analyst at the Lagos-based Behanzin Institute.
While Benin has historically been one of the most stable democracies in Africa, opposition leaders and human rights organizations have accused Talon of using the justice system as a tool to sideline his political opponents.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned the continued crackdown on dissent under Talon, citing arbitrary detentions, tight restrictions on public demonstrations, and increased pressure on independent media outlets.
Protests over the rising cost of living have occurred in recent years, but the government and security forces cracked down on any dissent.
In December, a group of military officers attempted to topple Talon’s government in a failed coup, the latest in a series. Recent attempts at military occupation across Africa. Most coup attempts are like this Pattern of disputed electionsConstitutional turmoil, security crisis and youth discontent.
One of the main complaints of the coup leaders was the deterioration of security in northern Benin.
Benin has faced this for years spreading violence In their fight against the al-Qaeda-linked extremist group Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, from neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger to the north.
The tri-border region has long been a hotbed of extremist violence, a trend worsened by a lack of security cooperation with Niger and Burkina Faso, both now led by military juntas.
