2026 presidential election: CENA opens the candidate registration phase
The Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA) launches this Friday, October 10, 2025, the registration of candidacies for the presidential election scheduled for January 2026.
La CENA au Bénin
Ph: RBM
This crucial step marks the concrete start of the electoral process, in accordance with the schedule officially published last August.
Under the provisions of the Beninese Electoral Code, each candidacy must be presented as a presidential ticket, comprising a presidential candidate and a running mate for the vice-presidency. To be admissible, each file must be sponsored by at least 15% of deputies and mayors, drawn from at least three-fifths of the electoral constituencies.
The period for submitting files runs until Tuesday, October 14, 2025, a strict deadline set by CENA. At the end of this phase, the institution will verify the documents and endorsements before publishing the provisional and then the final lists of approved tickets.
Politically, the landscape already seems to be taking shape. On the side of the presidential movement, the Romuald Wadagni – Mariam Chabi Talata ticket has been designated to represent the ruling majority, with the joint support of Union Progressiste le Renouveau (UPR) and the Bloc Républicain (BR).
The opposition, represented by Les Démocrates (LD), is said to have gathered the exact number of sponsors required to present a ticket for the upcoming elections.
With the official opening of this administrative phase, CENA confirms its determination to conduct a rigorous, inclusive and transparent electoral process, ahead of the general elections of January 2026