Benin – Municipal elections: reason for the delayed results

The counting of the municipal and communal elections held on January 11, 2026 began on Monday, January 26, after a delay in centralizing the results.

Electoral authorities now plan to publish the results by the end of the week.
According to François Adébayo Abiola, a member of the Electoral Council of the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA) as reported by an online media outlet, this delay is due to difficulties on the ground.

“We thought the processing would go faster, but it’s the field that calls the shots,” he explained.

To believe him, some polling stations submitted their PVs several days after the closing of the polls, which automatically slowed the entire process.

In the face of questions and suspicions of manipulation, the CENA sought to reassure the public. “It is impossible to change the results from the field,” said François Abiola, noting that human and computer checks are carried out at every step of the processing.

“Between fast but sloppy work and meticulous processing with verifications at every level, we had no choice,” he added.

The Commission also recalled that electoral appeals do not fall within its remit, but must be addressed to the Constitutional Court.

This statement ends several days of worry and speculation around the results of these local elections, whose stakes remain high for municipal governance across the country.