Benin: the Senate will be installed on July 30, 2026.

The countdown has begun. The Senate, the new upper chamber of the Beninese Parliament, will be officially installed on July 30, 2026, announced the President of the National Assembly, Joseph Djogbénou, this Friday, July 10, during the plenary session.

President Djogbénou read a letter from State Chief Romuald Wadagni, dated July 8, 2026. The President of the Republic indicates that he was approached by former President Dieudonné Nicéphore Soglo (the oldest member and ex officio member of the future Senate) regarding the preparatory steps for the institution’s installation.

According to this correspondence, the ceremony will take place at the premises of the National Assembly, pending the arrangement of a dedicated seat for the Senate.

In response to this announcement, Joseph Djogbénou assured that “all the necessary arrangements” would be made to host the event under good conditions.

An Already Established Composition

This announcement follows the completion of the composition of the upper chamber. The Council of Ministers on July 1, 2026, finalized the list of ex officio members — including former heads of state Nicéphore Soglo, Boni Yayi, and Patrice Talon — as well as the list of appointed personalities, among whom is Paul Hounkpè, a former opponent of Romuald Wadagni in the April 2026 presidential election.

As a reminder, the Senate was created by the constitutional revision adopted on November 14, 2025, and promulgated on December 17, 2025, under the reference law n° 2025-20. Designed as a chamber to regulate political life and consolidate democracy, it will consist of 25 members, divided between ex officio members and appointed members.