PRESS RELEASE – Cotonou, Benin, 11 April 2026
Heads of International Observation Missions met in Cotonou on Saturday to exchange information and compare notes on the eve of Benin’s Sunday, 12 April presidential election.
The meeting jointly convened by the ECOWAS and the African Union Election Observation Missions, led respectively by Ghana’s former President Nana Akufo-Addo, and Burundi’s former President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, was also attended by representatives of le Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the Association of African Election Authorities (AAEA), le Conseil de l’Entente, the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), and the West Africa Network for Peace-building (WANEP).
In his opening remarks, the Head of the ECOWAS Observation Mission said that ECOWAS deployed 15 Long-Term Observers since 23rd March, joined by 120 of their Long-Term counterparts and 15 Youth Observers to monitor the electoral process, including campaigns and voting on Election Day.
He said the pre-election observations included “a situation of latent political tension, a consequence of successive unilateral reforms initiated since 2019, the latest of which was implemented in 2025, severely restricting civic space.”
The Head of Mission also highlighted the “drastic reduction in the number of political parties (from 250 to 10 currently); the digital law, which tightens the rules governing the processing of information by journalists; the establishment of a political truce imposing political silence for the next six (6) years, (and) “the feeling of exclusion among certain key figures of the opposition, which raises concerns.”
He noted that the National Autonomous Electoral Commission (CENA), had carried out training of electoral agents while the deployment of sensitive electoral materials was ongoing
On citizen mobilisation, the Head of Mission said that “civil society organisations have joined forces with the support of ECOWAS for observation and monitoring, as well as for voter awareness-raising,” adding, “however, that citizen engagement is less robust than usual, due to the perceived shrinking of civic space.”
“A joint armed forces/republican police force (Operation Mirador) is deployed throughout the country to manage the security of electoral operations and to counter any attempted attacks, particularly those that could occur in the north,” the Head of Mission said, noting that “no violent incidence has been reported since the start of the process,” although “there have been some threats in the north due to the shift in extremist threats, particularly along the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger.”
The Head of Mission also observed that “electoral campaign has been very subdued, with uneven visibility favouring the (ruling coalition’s Romuald) Wadagni/(Mariam) Talata duo, compared to the (Paul) Hounkpe/(Judicaël) Hounwanou (pair), which is struggling to gain visibility and conduct a traditional campaign.”
He further noted that voter turnout would be of interest to the observers.
The Head of the AU Observation Mission, former President Ntibantungaya, and his other counterparts, including WANEP, which is deploying more than 1,700 Observers, echoed the pre-election observations of the ECOWAS Mission and called for vigilance.
They all expressed cautious optimism and hope that the electoral process would be peaceful and transparent, to contribute to the consolidation of democracy and good governance in the country and the West African region.
Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace & Security, addressing the Heads of Int’l Election Observation Missions
CENA registered 7.8 million voters from Benin’s estimated 14 million population, expected to vote in more than 17,000 polling stations at home and in the Diaspora.
They will elect a replacement for outgoing President Patrice Talon, who will be completing the constitutionally allowed two terms of five years each.##
