2026 Presidential Election in Benin: … Finally, LD Party’s Candidate Duo

They are Renaud Agbodjo, a lawyer by profession, and Jude Lodjou, running for the vice-presidency.

The announcement was made at the close of the party’s National Council, chaired by Boni Yayi, in the presence of members of the political bureau, departmental coordination committees and municipal representatives — the party’s supreme body.

Debate over the choice of the candidate duo began shortly before 1 a.m., after the return of party president Boni Yayi, who had been forced to step out in the meantime after the courts ordered him to return the endorsement of one of the sponsors, who had decided to withdraw his endorsement in order to use it freely.

During the National Council meeting, the commission set up to review the candidacy files presented its report. The report identified the three leading candidates: Renaud Agbodjo in second place, Nathanael Kitty, and in third place, Jude Lodjou.

The council was tasked with deciding which of these figures would form the candidate duo. Party president Boni Yayi proposed setting up a commission of the party’s vice-presidents to settle the matter, given the issue of a withdrawn endorsement raised by an MP who stated that, aside from Éric Houndété — to whom he owes what he has become — he did not intend to endorse anyone else.

Boni Yayi’s proposal was rejected by several participants, who argued that the council is the party’s supreme body and could not adjourn just hours before the close of candidacy filings without choosing the candidate duo.

For the delegates, the council had to take responsibility and designate the candidate duo then and there. Should the file be rejected by CENA for lack of endorsements, the argument went, the public would know who had decided to sink the party.

In the end, Renaud Agbodjo was chosen to carry the party’s torch, with Jude Lodjou as his running mate.

With this designation, Les Démocrates finalized its presidential ticket just hours before the deadline for filing candidacies with the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA), set for October 14.

The Agbodjo–Lodjou duo is expected to file their candidacy papers in the coming hours, a decisive step before the official opening of the campaign.