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The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has appointed former Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo to head the organisation’s delegation of observers who will monitor the Benin Republic presidential election.
EOWAS announced this in a post shared on X on Thursday. According to the West African bloc, the electoral observation mission is expected to support the electoral process in Benin in accordance with Article 14 of the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (2001).
The electoral observation mission is also expected to observe the electoral campaign and monitor the voting and ballot counting. ECOWAS further noted that the mission will assess the election’s compliance with electoral rules and democratic standards, promote the holding of peaceful, transparent, and credible elections, and strengthen confidence among political actors and citizens.
Benin’s Presidential elections are scheduled for 12 April 2026. The country’s President, Patrice Talon, who has served two terms, will pass the baton to the winner of the election, who will succeed him.
An attempted coup rocked Talon’s second term in office. Some soldiers attempted to overthrow Talon in 2025 and abducted some top military leaders. The Nigerian Air Force was deployed to Cotonou to dislodge the coup attempt at the request of the Benin Government.
