{"id":321926,"date":"2026-01-12T10:41:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T02:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=321926"},"modified":"2026-01-12T10:41:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T02:41:05","slug":"benin-heads-to-polls-a-month-after-foiled-coup-attempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=321926","title":{"rendered":"Benin heads to polls a month after foiled coup attempt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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COTONOU, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Beninese cast their votes Sunday in crucial parliamentary and local elections, just one month after a\u00a0failed coup plot shook the west African country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Patrice Talon’s ruling coalition is expected to strengthen its\u00a0already powerful hand in the ballots, with the main opposition Democrats\u00a0party barred from the local polls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The elections come at a fraught moment for Benin, still reeling from a deadly\u00a0coup attempt by army mutineers on Dec 7, which was put down in a matter\u00a0of hours by the military, with support from Nigeria and France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The streets of economic capital Cotonou were calm as polling stations opened\u00a0at 7:00 am local time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m voting early so I don’t have to deal with the midday crowds\u00a0after church,” said restaurateur Adeline Sonon, 32, after casting her ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The single-round legislative polls, expected within days, will elect the 109 seats in the National\u00a0Assembly, where Talon’s three-party bloc hopes to strengthen its majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Democrats, only running in the parliamentary races, risk ceding ground to\u00a0the ruling coalition, which currently holds 81 seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some observers say the opposition may lose all 28 seats, given the current\u00a0electoral law requiring parties to gather support from 20 percent of\u00a0registered voters in each of the country’s 24 voting districts to stand for\u00a0parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign unfolded without large rallies, with most parties opting for\u00a0 grassroots strategies like door-to-door canvassing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“All measures have been taken to guarantee a free, transparent and secure\u00a0vote. No political ambition can justify violence or endanger national unity,”\u00a0head of the electoral commission (CENA), Sacca Lafia, said on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislative elections are set to define the political landscape ahead of\u00a0April’s presidential polls, with the opposition struck off the ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Talon, 67, who is nearing the end of his second five-year term, is\u00a0barred from running in April’s elections, his hand-picked successor, Finance\u00a0Minister Romuald Wadagni, is a strong favourite to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talon has presided over strong economic development across his nearly a\u00a0decade in power, but critics accuse him of restricting political opposition\u00a0and basic rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polls closed at 5:00 pm on Sunday. — NNN-AGENCIES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COTONOU, Jan 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Beninese cast their votes Sunday in crucial parliamentary and local elections, just one month after a\u00a0failed coup plot shook the west African country. President Patrice Talon’s ruling coalition is expected to strengthen its\u00a0already powerful hand in the ballots, with the main opposition Democrats\u00a0party barred from the local polls. The elections […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":321930,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[213],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321926"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=321926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":321931,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321926\/revisions\/321931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/321930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=321926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=321926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=321926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}