Benin went to the polls on Sunday in a presidential election pitting incumbent Finance Minister Olfa Kadoun against a fragmented opposition field, as the West African nation grapples with a deteriorating security situation linked to Islamist insurgencies spilling over from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.
Polling stations opened at 6:00 AM local time across the country, with long queues forming in major cities including Cotonou, Porto-Novo, and Parakou. By midday, the electoral commission reported a turnout of approximately 42 percent, slightly lower than the 48 percent recorded during the 2021 elections.
President Patrice Talon, who is constitutionally barred from serving a third term, was not on the ballot. His two-term tenure has been marked by both economic reforms and growing authoritarianism, with the opposition accusing him of using the justice system to eliminate political rivals. Kadoun, his finance minister since 2021, has positioned herself as the continuity candidate, promising to accelerate infrastructure development and strengthen the business environment.
Yet the campaign has been dominated not by economic policy but by security concerns. Jihadist groups affiliated with both Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have stepped up attacks in the north of the country, killing at least 140 people in the first quarter of 2026 alone. The violence has forced the government to deploy thousands of troops to the border region and to request additional support from France and the G5 Sahel coalition.
Kadoun’s main challenger, former Prime Minister Paul Hounkpè, has criticised the government’s handling of the security crisis, arguing that military responses alone will not solve a problem rooted in poverty, youth unemployment, and the marginalisation of northern communities. “We cannot bomb our way to peace,” Hounkpè told supporters at a rally in Tanguiéta. “We need a comprehensive approach that addresses the root causes of radicalisation.”
Human Rights Watch has documented at least 17 incidents of abuse by state security forces in the north since January, including arbitrary arrests, torture, and the burning of villages suspected of harbouring militants. The group warned that heavy-handed tactics were fueling resentment and potentially expanding the pool of recruits for armed groups.
International observers from the African Union and ECOWAS deployed hundreds of monitors across the country. Early reports described the voting process as “calm and largely orderly,” though some irregularities were noted in remote polling stations where materials arrived late. Vote counting began immediately after polls closed at 6:00 PM, with preliminary results expected within 48 hours.
If no candidate secures more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held in early May. Most political analysts expect Kadoun to advance to a second round, though the margin of her first-round performance could signal the depth of public dissatisfaction with the Talon-era direction.
France and the United States have both issued statements urging all parties to respect the outcome and to resolve any disputes through legal channels. The EU is expected to release a formal assessment of the election within the next week.
Fears over West Africa’s Islamist insurgency dominate Benin’s election campaign