Benin – Closure of the CENA portal: list of parties registered for the 2026 legislative elections

The curtain has fallen at CENA. At exactly midnight on Thursday, November 20, 2025, the headquarters’ portal closed, sealing the end of the submission of candidacy declarations. After several hours of intense activity, late submissions and delegations arriving up to the final minutes, no more files can be accepted.

This closing takes place in accordance with the Electoral Code, which sets November 19 at midnight as the deadline for receiving the files of parties contesting the legislative elections of January 11, 2026. CENA officials handled reception up to the last moment before permanently closing the offices.

Parties that submitted their files before the closure

Several political parties managed to submit their files before the portal closed. These include Forces Cauris pour un Bénin Émergent (FCBE), which filed in the morning; Union Progressiste Le Renouveau (UP-R), which arrived at 8:00 p.m.; Bloc Républicain (BR), registered at 9:22 p.m.; Moele-Bénin, which filed its dossier after arriving at 10:27 p.m.; Les Démocrates (LD), present at 11:09 p.m. and registered at 11:20 p.m.; and Grande Solidarité Républicaine (GSR), which arrived at 11:42 p.m.

All these parties succeeded in submitting their lists of main candidates, substitutes and those reserved for women, in accordance with the requirements of the Electoral Code.

With the portal closed, CENA now begins the phase of verification and compliance of the files. This will be followed by a period for possible corrections, before the publication of the final list of parties and candidates selected to take part in the legislative ballot on January 11, 2026.