Benin holds presidential election with finance minister favored to win
Benin held its presidential election on Sunday, with Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni expected to succeed outgoing President Patrice Talon.Voting took place peacefully, although some irregularities were reported at certain polling stations.Nearly eight million eligible voters were called to the polls to choose a successor to Talon, who is stepping down after serving two five-year terms.Wadagni, who has overseen a decade of economic growth, was endorsed by Talon and is widely favored to win.The head of the electoral commission, Sacca Lafia, confirmed that the election proceeded peacefully.However, a civil society electoral monitoring platform reported around one hundred incident alerts, including early... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 12 Apr 2026 22:03 LONDON
Benin holds presidential election amid security and economic challenges
Benin conducted its presidential election on 12 April 2026 amid ongoing security and economic difficulties.Voting began at 7am local time and was scheduled to close at 4pm, with over 7.9 million registered voters including those in the diaspora.Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, backed by the ruling coalition and outgoing President Patrice Talon, was widely expected to win.Wadagni, a 49-year-old former Deloitte executive, faced opposition from Paul Hounkpe, a former culture minister and opposition figure whose campaign remained low-key.The election took place as Benin confronts significant challenges including jihadist attacks from the al-Qaeda affiliated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and a poverty... [Continue Reading]
360LiveNews | 12 Apr 2026 13:33 LONDON
