CHANGE OF GUARDS IN BENIN REPUBLIC
Romuald Wadagni is President-elect of Benin
Not surprisingly, Romuald Wadagni has won the 12 April presidential election in Benin Republic, chalking up more than 94 per cent of the votes. At age 49, the Minister of Finance was the anointed heir of the incumbent President Patrice Talon who has spent the last decade in power. His only opponent and candidate in the largely sidelined opposition, Paul Hounkpe, conceded defeat before the final counts. Hounkpe received less than six per cent of the votes in an election that recorded a 59 per cent turnout.
Given the failure of the opposition to attain the 20 per cent threshold required to win seats in the last January parliamentary election, Talon’s two allied parties already control all 109 seats in the country’s National Assembly. Critics say Talon engineered the threshold to keep out rivals. Meanwhile, elections in Benin Republic are conducted under the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. Both the President and the National Assembly are directly elected by voters. An excited Talon, 67, said in the course of the election that he was leaving office “with the feeling of having given my best, of having led the country to take some steps forward in all areas”. But as he bows out in May, Talon is leaving behind a mixed legacy of economic growth, a growing Islamic insurgency in the north, and the suppression of opposition.
Formerly named Dahomey, and bordering Nigeria to the east, Benin Republic has a diverse landscape, embracing coastal lagoons, Savanna and mountains. With a population of about 15 million people, the country is still one of the most stable democracies on the continent. Though highly sensitive to policy changes in Nigeria, the country’s economy is driven largely by agriculture. Available reports indicate that Benin Republic made some progress during the decade-long tenure of Talon.
However, politics in Benin Republic has followed the usual African pattern. Talon has been accused by human rights organisations of using the justice system to sideline political opponents. Amnesty International has for instance denounced a sustained crackdown on dissent, citing arbitrary detentions, heavy restrictions on public protests, and pressure on the independent media. Even worse, Benin’s stability has been shaken in recent times. In September 2024, the government reportedly foiled a suspected coup attempt. And last December, a group of rebellious military officers again made a futile attempt to topple Talon’s government shortly after lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment extending the presidential term to seven years.
Even though he is not a beneficiary, the mutinous soldiers cited Talon’s mismanagement, nepotism in the military, restrictions in political space, and deteriorating security situation in the northern part of the country. Thankfully, Nigeria was able to help in putting down the coup, following requests from the Beninese government. Nigeria armed forces dislodged the putschists from the Benin state television headquarters and disabled several armoured vehicles. It was Nigeria’s first foreign military intervention since the 2017 Gambian constitutional crisis.
But the incoming president will have to contend with the Al-Qaeda-linked Jihadists attacking the country’s northern border regions near Burkina Faso and Niger since late 2021.
The insurgents use the forested border areas between Benin, Niger, and Nigeria for their cross-border activities. In April 2025, some 54 soldiers were reportedly killed in a single attack. More recently, in March 2026, no fewer than 15 soldiers were similarly killed. This is a growing existential threat Benin Republic would have to tackle alongside Nigeria. While congratulating the president-elect, President Bola Tinubu has noted that Nigeria and Benin Republic “share a long history of friendship, cultural ties, and cooperation.” Certainly, there is much to do to secure both nations.
We wish President-elect Romuald Wadagni success in his new assignment.
