2026 legislative elections in Benin: 60 seats for the UPR and 49 seats for the BR (CENA)

The National Autonomous Electoral Commission (CENA) has published the provisional results of the legislative election held on January 11, 2026, detailing the distribution of seats in the National Assembly. Following the application of the Electoral Code, two political parties meet the eligibility requirements and share the entire parliamentary representation, namely 60 seats for the Union Progressiste le Renouveau and 49 seats for the Bloc Républicain.

The vote was held on the basis of an electorate of 7,834,608 registered voters, with 2,036,533 ballots cast, a turnout rate of 36.73%. Valid votes cast totalled 2,790,347, with 87,426 invalid ballots. Nationally, the consolidated results were as follows:

• Union progressiste le Renouveau (UPR): 1,148,118 votes, or 41.15%;
• Bloc républicain (BR): 1,022,462 votes, or 36.64%.

Having crossed the 20% threshold of valid votes cast in each of the 24 electoral constituencies, both parties are declared eligible for seat allocation. CENA therefore proceeded to allocate the ordinary seats constituency by constituency, using the principle of proportional representation, combining the electoral quotient with the highest-average rule. Across all 24 constituencies, the UPR secured a total of 44 ordinary seats and the BR obtained 41 ordinary seats.

Seats exclusively reserved for women

In accordance with the Electoral Code’s specific provisions on gender promotion, seats exclusively reserved for women were allocated after the ordinary seats were distributed. At the end of this process, the UPR obtained 16 seats reserved for women and the BR obtained 8 seats reserved for women.

Thus, after combining the ordinary seats and the seats reserved for women, the provisional composition of the National Assembly resulting from the 2026 legislative elections is as follows:

• Union progressiste le Renouveau (UPR): 60 seats
  • 44 ordinary seats
  • 16 seats reserved for women
• Bloc républicain (BR): 49 seats
  • 41 ordinary seats
  • 8 seats reserved for women

In accordance with the procedure in force, the decision on the publication of the provisional results of the January 11, 2026 legislative election has been forwarded to the Constitutional Court for review, and will subsequently be published and communicated wherever necessary.

It should be noted that this distribution results in a National Assembly made up exclusively of two political parties, following an election marked by the strict application of the eligibility thresholds set out in the Electoral Code.