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Results for Benin’s presidential election are expected to be announced by April 14, two days after voters head to the polls, according to News Central’s correspondent, Kathleen Ndongmo reporting from Cotonou.
Staff from the Autonomous National Electoral Commission of Benin (CENA), the country’s independent electoral body, have been moving electoral materials since the morning of April 11, Ndongmo reported.
“Ballot boxes have been taken to electoral polling units and all is being set to their designated locations under security escort,” she said.
CENA has confirmed that polling stations will open at seven o’clock tomorrow morning and close at six in the evening, Ndongmo reported.
“That’s 11 hours for voters to cast their ballots,” she said.
Runoff possible on May 10
If no candidate secures an absolute majority of more than 50 percent of valid votes cast, a second round is automatically triggered, Ndongmo said.
“Currently, that will be scheduled for May 10.”
“The commission has stated publicly that it is prepared for both scenarios,” she added.
Benin’s more than 14,000 polling units are distributed across the country’s 12 departments, Ndongmo reported, citing CENA.
“Those voters are distributed across more than 14,000 polling units across the country,” she said.
“That’s urban areas like Cotonou and also Porto-Novo, through to the rural communities in the northern departments of Alibori and Atakora, where the security situation adds a logistical and security layer to the electoral operation.”
Each polling unit will be staffed by a trained electoral agent and security forces, including police and military, assigned to sensitive locations, she said.
Security measures
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) standby force, deployed to Benin following the December 2025 coup attempt, remains present and has been factored into the security architecture for election day, according to Ndongmo.
CENA has taken specific measures to ensure accessibility in the north, she said, “where displacement that was caused by incursions has moved communities away from their registered polling locations.”
“Whether those measures are sufficient is something that observer missions will be assessing and watching very closely from the moment that the polls open tomorrow morning,” Ndongmo told News Central.
