Benin’s National Autonomous Electoral Commission (CENA) has officially approved two candidate pairs for the country’s April 2026 presidential election, while rejecting the main opposition party’s submission for not meeting sponsorship requirements.
In its decision released Thursday, the commission confirmed the candidacies of Romuald Wadagni and Mariam Chabi Talata, and Paul Hounkpè and Rock Judicaël Hounwanou, noting that their application files were “complete and compliant.”
However, the ticket put forward by the opposition party Les Démocrates, featuring Renaud Agbodjo and Jude Bonaventure Lodjou, failed to reach the legal threshold of 28 valid sponsorships, securing only 27 after one was ruled invalid.
Two additional applications were also rejected for lacking the required number of endorsements and necessary security documents.
Wadagni, a former finance minister, now emerges as one of the top contenders to succeed President Patrice Talon when Benin heads to the polls next April.
According to the electoral timeline, rejected candidates have 48 hours to appeal to the Constitutional Court, which will conduct health checks on validated candidates before releasing the final list.
