Benin flag Benin: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Benin

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President: Patrice TALON (since 6 April 2016) - the president is both chief of state and head of government 
Next Election Dates
Presidential: April 2026
National Assembly: January 2027
Main Political Parties
Benin is formally a multy-party country, however opposition parties have no real chance of gaining power. The main parties reresented in the parliament include:

- Progressive Union for Renewal (UPR): centre-left, formerly called Progressive Union, in August 2022, the party merged with the Democratic Renewal Party and changed to its present name
- Republican Bloc (BR): centre, supports the current government
- Democrats (LD): centre-left to left-wing, social democracy, it is the main opposition party.

Other parties include:
- African Movement for Development and Progress (MADEP)
- Benin Renaissance (RB)
- Cowrie Force for an Emerging Benin (FCBE)
- Democratic Renewal Party (PRD)
- Progressive Union for Renewal (PUR)
- Sun Alliance (AS)

Executive Power
The President of the Republic is elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage with an uninominal majority ballot in two rounds, for a maximum of two terms (whether consecutive or not). He is the head of state, the holder of the executive power, and the head of the Government, and with this title, he shall determine and conduct the politics of the nation (art. 54). After an advisory opinion of the National Assembly, the President appoints the members of the Government.
Legislative Power
The legislative power in Benin is vested in the National Assembly, a unicameral body also known as the Assemblée Nationale, which comprises 109 seats, with 24 seats specifically designated for women. Members are elected directly in multi-seat constituencies through a party-list proportional representation system. They hold office for five-year terms, with the current members set to conclude their terms in 2026 to align with upcoming general elections.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
114/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
4/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: March 2024

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