2026 presidential election: meeting announced this Friday between Talon and Yayu
The day after a controversial decision by the Constitutional Court in the sponsorship case involving MP Michel Sodjinou, the president of the party Les Démocrates and former head of state, Dr. Thomas Boni Yayi, announced a high-level meeting with President Patrice Talon, scheduled for Friday, October 24, 2025.
Boni Yayi reçu en audience par Patrice Talon ce lundi 13 juin 2022
In a statement released Thursday evening, Boni Yayi said the meeting aims to “examine together ways out of the current crisis” and to work, in a spirit of fraternity and responsibility, to preserve social peace and institutional stability.
” President Patrice Talon and I have agreed to meet for a direct and republican dialogue in order to examine together ways out of the current crisis,” the statement specifies.
The former president stresses the need for a sincere dialogue to ensure “inclusive, transparent and peaceful” elections.
This announcement comes amid a political climate marked by the Constitutional Court’s decision to declare itself incompetent in the dispute over MP Michel Sodjinou’s contested sponsorship, a case that has reignited tensions between the government and the opposition as the 2026 presidential election approaches.
Observers view the initiative as a calming signal in a context where calls for dialogue are multiplying, notably from civil society and religious groups.
Boni Yayi closes his message on a note of hope: “It is through dialogue that we will be able to hold inclusive, transparent and peaceful general elections.”
A long-awaited meeting, then, between the two key figures of Benin’s political scene, which could pave the way for an easing of political tensions ahead of the 2026 elections.