Parliamentary elections were held in Benin on 8 January 2023. All 109 members of the National Assembly were elected.[1] The preliminary results of the election were announced on 11 January.[2]
In 2016 Patrice Talon was elected president, with Benin then widely seen as an example of democracy on the African continent.[3] However, the April 2019 legislative elections led to a major crisis. Only two parties, both of which supported Talon, were allowed to complete (the Progressive Union and the Republican Bloc), with opposition lists failing validation after the implementation of a more restrictive electoral code by the government. The opposition, civil society and NGOs such as Amnesty International denounced what they considered to be an authoritarian drift by the government, damaging the country's democratic reputation.[3][4][5] The conduct of the legislative elections was criticised, including the government cutting off access to the internet and social networks during the vote, and the arrest of opponents and journalists in the months leading up to election day.[6][7][8]
As expected, the elections saw a low turnout, with only 27% of voters voting. The Progressive Union won an absolute majority with 47 seats, while the Republican Bloc won the remaining 36.[9] Several post-election demonstrations led to violence between police and demonstrators, as well as significant material damage and at least two deaths.[10] The police and army intervene to disperse barricades erected in several streets of the capital Cotonou, including via live fire, causing one death.[11][12]
Political dialogue was held for six months after the elections and led to an agreement on the rules of participation in the next legislative elections, which was enshrined in a revision of the constitution. Parties could no longer participate in alliances, and were required to present candidates in each constituency in order to concentrate votes on parties of real national importance. However, during the municipal elections of May 2020, which involved 546 districts, five parties had their participation validated by the Constitutional Court (CENA), compared to 34 party or party alliance lists in the previous municipal elections in 2015.[13] The agreement also led to the number of parliamentary deputies increasing from 83 to 109, but elected for a shortened term of three years, in order to hold the next set of legislative and municipal elections together in January 2026, followed by presidential elections in April.[14] The latter will also see a vice president elected at the same time as the president, both elected for a term of five years.[15][16]
Electoral system
The 109 members of the National Assembly (increased from the prior election's 83) are elected by proportional representation (simple quotient, then largest remainder method) in 24 multi-member constituencies, based on the country's departments.[17] A party list must obtain a percentage of the vote greater than the electoral threshold of 10% of the national vote to enter parliament, whilst the deposit required for a parliamentary list to run was set at 249 million francs.[18] Lists are required to put forward at least one candidate in all constituencies. Following the constitutional revision of 2019,[19] the mandate of deputies elected in this election is reduced from four to three years, as a transitional measure, while the normal duration of the mandate in following elections is extended from four to five years. Following this, in January 2026, Benin will hold with new legislative and municipal elections combined with a presidential-vice presidential election (for a five-year term) later in April.[20] The revision also introduces a total of 24 seats reserved for women, one per constituency, as well as a limit of three terms from the 2023 elections, without retroactive effect, for all MPs.[21]
Results
Provisional results were announced on 11 January, with the Progressive Union for Renewal (UPR) winning a plurality of seats (58), followed by the Republican Bloc (BR) and Les Démocrates both winning 28 seats. The only opposition party to cross the electoral threshold was Les Démocrates (LD) of former president Thomas Boni Yayi.[22] Other parties, including the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin, Movement of Committed Elites for the Emancipation of Benin, People's Liberation Movement and Democratic Union for a New Benin combined for approximately 9% of the votes, but did not earn any seats because they did not earn above 10% of the vote individually. Roughly 3% of votes were invalid, and preliminary turnout was 38.66%.[23][24][25] The Constitutional Court certified the results on 12 January.[26]
Movement of Committed Elites for the Emancipation of Benin
56,728
2.29
0
New
People's Liberation Movement
31,638
1.28
0
New
Democratic Union for a New Benin
26,430
1.07
0
0
Total
2,477,908
100.00
109
+26
Valid votes
2,477,908
96.85
Invalid/blank votes
80,538
3.15
Total votes
2,558,446
100.00
Registered voters/turnout
6,769,817
37.79
Source: Constitutional Court
Aftermath
Given that the election was won by pro-government parties—the UPR and the BR won a combined 81 seats out of 109—Patrice Talon, the current President of Benin, is thus expected to retain control of the government until his second term concludes in 2026.[27] Although Talon is not a member of either party, the UPR and BR both support his presidency. Éric Houndété, leader of the LD opposition party, made claims without evidence of vote buying and ballot stuffing. He stated, "The Democrats party rejects this result, which does not reflect the will of the people to make our party the first political force in our country."[26] Election observers, including the Benin-based Civic Academy for Africa's Future (CiAAF), noted that the elections were violence free compared to prior elections in 2019 and 2021, with CiAAF head Expedit Ologou calling the elections "calm, peaceful, friendly, fraternal in most areas of the country".[28]
References
^Linkpon, Stanislas (2022-11-09). "Législatives 2023 : plus de 6,6 millions électeurs inscrits sur la liste électorale". ORTB (in French). from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
^Adjoha, Pulcherie (8 January 2023). "Benin holds parliamentary election set to test democracy". Reuters. from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
^ ab"Bénin : une abstention massive aux législatives pour protester contre le gouvernement" (in French). Le Monde. 2019-04-28. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
^"Bénin: sale temps pour Cotonou" (in French). Le Point. 2019-04-29. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
^"Législatives au Bénin : l'opposition lance un ultimatum à Patrice Talon au lendemain du scrutin". Jeune Afrique (in French). 2019-04-30. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
^"Benin: in the absence of the opposition, massive abstention in the legislative elections". France 24. 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
^"Benin. Cutting off the internet on election day is a direct attack on freedom of expression". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
^"Legislatives: Benin still waiting for results" (in French). TV5 Monde. 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
^Legislative elections in Benin: turnout below 25% according to preliminary results Jeune Afrique
^Benin: clashes around Boni Yayi's home, the government denies wanting to arrest the former president Jeune Afrique
^"Le Bénin secoué par des violences post-électorales". RFI.
^Benin: live fire, one dead in anti-power protests
^"[Editorial] Municipalities in Benin, a democratic test – Jeune Afrique". Jeune Afrique.
^"In Benin, the 9th legislature will serve a transitional term". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
^"Limitation of the number of elective mandates in Benin: Which candidates for the 2023 legislative and 2026 presidential elections?". aCotonou. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
^"Benin, legislatives: the electoral campaign for the January 2023 polls will begin on 23 December". french.news.cn. 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
^Bénin : le nouveau code électoral suscite la polémique 2019-05-01 at the Wayback Machine Jeune Afrique, 27 September 2018
^"Adoption de la loi de révision de la Constitution au Bénin: ce qui change". RFI. 1 November 2019. from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
^"Au Bénin, la 9e législature fera un mandat de transition". Deutsche Welle. 2 January 2023. from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
^"Limitation du nombre des mandats électifs au Bénin: Quels candidats pour les législatives de 2023 et la présidentielle de 2026 ?". aCotonou. from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
^"Résultats provisoires des législatives au Bénin : UP 1er (53 sièges), BR 2è(28 sièges) et LD 3è(28 sièges)". La Nouvelle Tribune. lanouvelletribunebenin. 11 January 2023. from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023..
^"Résultats provisoires des législatives au Bénin : UP 1er (53 sièges), BR 2è (28 sièges) et LD 3è (28 sièges)". La Nouvelle Tribune (in French). 2023-01-11. from the original on 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
^"Législatives 2023 au Bénin : liste des 109 députés élus selon les résultats provisoires par la CENA". Banouto (in French). from the original on 2023-01-12. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
^"En direct de la CENA : résultats provisoires des législatives". ORTB (in French). 2023-01-11. from the original on 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
^ ab"Benin's ruling coalition won election, constitutional court says". France24. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
^"Législatives au Bénin: l'opposition de retour à l'Assemblée avec le parti Les Démocrates". RFI. RFI. 11 January 2023. from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023..
^"Polls close in Benin parliamentary election". Al Jazeera. 8 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
January 19, 2023
2023, beninese, parliamentary, election, parliamentary, elections, were, held, benin, january, 2023, members, national, assembly, were, elected, preliminary, results, election, were, announced, january, 2019, january, 2023, 2027, seats, national, assembly55, s. Parliamentary elections were held in Benin on 8 January 2023 All 109 members of the National Assembly were elected 1 The preliminary results of the election were announced on 11 January 2 2023 Beninese parliamentary election 2019 8 January 2023 2027 All 109 seats in the National Assembly55 seats needed for a majorityTurnout38 76 11 64 Party Leader Seats Progressive Union Joseph Djogbenou 37 56 53 6Republican Bloc Abdoulaye Bio Tchane 29 23 28 8The Democrats Eric Houndete 24 16 28 NewThis lists parties that won seats See the complete results below Contents 1 Background 2 Electoral system 3 Results 4 Aftermath 5 ReferencesBackground EditIn 2016 Patrice Talon was elected president with Benin then widely seen as an example of democracy on the African continent 3 However the April 2019 legislative elections led to a major crisis Only two parties both of which supported Talon were allowed to complete the Progressive Union and the Republican Bloc with opposition lists failing validation after the implementation of a more restrictive electoral code by the government The opposition civil society and NGOs such as Amnesty International denounced what they considered to be an authoritarian drift by the government damaging the country s democratic reputation 3 4 5 The conduct of the legislative elections was criticised including the government cutting off access to the internet and social networks during the vote and the arrest of opponents and journalists in the months leading up to election day 6 7 8 As expected the elections saw a low turnout with only 27 of voters voting The Progressive Union won an absolute majority with 47 seats while the Republican Bloc won the remaining 36 9 Several post election demonstrations led to violence between police and demonstrators as well as significant material damage and at least two deaths 10 The police and army intervene to disperse barricades erected in several streets of the capital Cotonou including via live fire causing one death 11 12 Political dialogue was held for six months after the elections and led to an agreement on the rules of participation in the next legislative elections which was enshrined in a revision of the constitution Parties could no longer participate in alliances and were required to present candidates in each constituency in order to concentrate votes on parties of real national importance However during the municipal elections of May 2020 which involved 546 districts five parties had their participation validated by the Constitutional Court CENA compared to 34 party or party alliance lists in the previous municipal elections in 2015 13 The agreement also led to the number of parliamentary deputies increasing from 83 to 109 but elected for a shortened term of three years in order to hold the next set of legislative and municipal elections together in January 2026 followed by presidential elections in April 14 The latter will also see a vice president elected at the same time as the president both elected for a term of five years 15 16 Electoral system EditThe 109 members of the National Assembly increased from the prior election s 83 are elected by proportional representation simple quotient then largest remainder method in 24 multi member constituencies based on the country s departments 17 A party list must obtain a percentage of the vote greater than the electoral threshold of 10 of the national vote to enter parliament whilst the deposit required for a parliamentary list to run was set at 249 million francs 18 Lists are required to put forward at least one candidate in all constituencies Following the constitutional revision of 2019 19 the mandate of deputies elected in this election is reduced from four to three years as a transitional measure while the normal duration of the mandate in following elections is extended from four to five years Following this in January 2026 Benin will hold with new legislative and municipal elections combined with a presidential vice presidential election for a five year term later in April 20 The revision also introduces a total of 24 seats reserved for women one per constituency as well as a limit of three terms from the 2023 elections without retroactive effect for all MPs 21 Results EditProvisional results were announced on 11 January with the Progressive Union for Renewal UPR winning a plurality of seats 58 followed by the Republican Bloc BR and Les Democrates both winning 28 seats The only opposition party to cross the electoral threshold was Les Democrates LD of former president Thomas Boni Yayi 22 Other parties including the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin Movement of Committed Elites for the Emancipation of Benin People s Liberation Movement and Democratic Union for a New Benin combined for approximately 9 of the votes but did not earn any seats because they did not earn above 10 of the vote individually Roughly 3 of votes were invalid and preliminary turnout was 38 66 23 24 25 The Constitutional Court certified the results on 12 January 26 PartyVotes Seats Progressive Union for Renewal930 71437 5653 6Republican Bloc724 24029 2328 8The Democrats598 56024 1628NewCowry Forces for an Emerging Benin109 5984 4200Movement of Committed Elites for the Emancipation of Benin56 7282 290NewPeople s Liberation Movement31 6381 280NewDemocratic Union for a New Benin26 4301 0700Total2 477 908100 00109 26Valid votes2 477 90896 85Invalid blank votes80 5383 15Total votes2 558 446100 00Registered voters turnout6 769 81737 79Source Constitutional CourtAftermath EditGiven that the election was won by pro government parties the UPR and the BR won a combined 81 seats out of 109 Patrice Talon the current President of Benin is thus expected to retain control of the government until his second term concludes in 2026 27 Although Talon is not a member of either party the UPR and BR both support his presidency Eric Houndete leader of the LD opposition party made claims without evidence of vote buying and ballot stuffing He stated The Democrats party rejects this result which does not reflect the will of the people to make our party the first political force in our country 26 Election observers including the Benin based Civic Academy for Africa s Future CiAAF noted that the elections were violence free compared to prior elections in 2019 and 2021 with CiAAF head Expedit Ologou calling the elections calm peaceful friendly fraternal in most areas of the country 28 References Edit Linkpon Stanislas 2022 11 09 Legislatives 2023 plus de 6 6 millions electeurs inscrits sur la liste electorale ORTB in French Archived from the original on 2022 12 05 Retrieved 2022 12 08 Adjoha Pulcherie 8 January 2023 Benin holds parliamentary election set to test democracy Reuters Archived from the original on 8 January 2023 Retrieved 8 January 2023 a b Benin une abstention massive aux legislatives pour protester contre le gouvernement in French Le Monde 2019 04 28 Retrieved 14 January 2023 Benin sale temps pour Cotonou in French Le Point 2019 04 29 Retrieved 14 January 2023 Legislatives au Benin l opposition lance un ultimatum a Patrice Talon au lendemain du scrutin Jeune Afrique in French 2019 04 30 Retrieved 14 January 2023 Benin in the absence of the opposition massive abstention in the legislative elections France 24 2019 04 29 Retrieved 2019 05 01 Benin Cutting off the internet on election day is a direct attack on freedom of expression www amnesty org Retrieved 2019 05 01 Legislatives Benin still waiting for results in French TV5 Monde 2019 04 30 Retrieved 2019 05 01 Legislative elections in Benin turnout below 25 according to preliminary results Jeune Afrique Benin clashes around Boni Yayi s home the government denies wanting to arrest the former president Jeune Afrique Le Benin secoue par des violences post electorales RFI Benin live fire one dead in anti power protests Editorial Municipalities in Benin a democratic test Jeune Afrique Jeune Afrique In Benin the 9th legislature will serve a transitional term Deutsche Welle Retrieved 4 January 2023 Limitation of the number of elective mandates in Benin Which candidates for the 2023 legislative and 2026 presidential elections aCotonou Retrieved 20 December 2022 Benin legislatives the electoral campaign for the January 2023 polls will begin on 23 December french news cn 2022 Retrieved 20 December 2022 Electoral system Archived 2017 09 25 at the Wayback Machine IPU Benin le nouveau code electoral suscite la polemique Archived 2019 05 01 at the Wayback Machine Jeune Afrique 27 September 2018 Adoption de la loi de revision de la Constitution au Benin ce qui change RFI 1 November 2019 Archived from the original on 20 December 2022 Retrieved 20 December 2022 Au Benin la 9e legislature fera un mandat de transition Deutsche Welle 2 January 2023 Archived from the original on 3 January 2023 Retrieved 4 January 2023 Limitation du nombre des mandats electifs au Benin Quels candidats pour les legislatives de 2023 et la presidentielle de 2026 aCotonou Archived from the original on 20 December 2022 Retrieved 20 December 2022 Resultats provisoires des legislatives au Benin UP 1er 53 sieges BR 2e 28 sieges et LD 3e 28 sieges La Nouvelle Tribune lanouvelletribunebenin 11 January 2023 Archived from the original on 11 January 2023 Retrieved 11 January 2023 Resultats provisoires des legislatives au Benin UP 1er 53 sieges BR 2e 28 sieges et LD 3e 28 sieges La Nouvelle Tribune in French 2023 01 11 Archived from the original on 2023 01 11 Retrieved 2023 01 11 Legislatives 2023 au Benin liste des 109 deputes elus selon les resultats provisoires par la CENA Banouto in French Archived from the original on 2023 01 12 Retrieved 2023 01 11 En direct de la CENA resultats provisoires des legislatives ORTB in French 2023 01 11 Archived from the original on 2023 01 11 Retrieved 2023 01 11 a b Benin s ruling coalition won election constitutional court says France24 13 January 2021 Retrieved 18 January 2023 Legislatives au Benin l opposition de retour a l Assemblee avec le parti Les Democrates RFI RFI 11 January 2023 Archived from the original on 11 January 2023 Retrieved 11 January 2023 Polls close in Benin parliamentary election Al Jazeera 8 January 2023 Retrieved 18 January 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2023 Beninese parliamentary election amp oldid 1134513952, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
