Overview
- Vote counting, which began Sunday after polls closed, is expected to produce provisional results by Tuesday, according to multiple news outlets.
- Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, endorsed by outgoing President Patrice Talon, faced only Paul Hounkpe of the FCBE on the ballot.
- The main opposition party, The Democrats, was excluded after failing to secure required parliamentary endorsements, a rule critics say was designed to keep rivals out.
- Reporters and voters described low turnout through the day, with some calling the vote a managed handover rather than a real contest.
- The winner will serve a seven-year term under 2025 constitutional changes, taking office as Benin confronts lethal jihadi attacks in the north and the fallout from a failed coup in December.