In November 2025, the National Assembly adopted a constitutional amendment (Law No. 2025-20 of 14 November 2025). The presidential and legislative terms were extended from five to seven years, renewable once. The new constitution also established a Senate comprising members appointed by the president as well as former heads of state, without a referendum or public consultation.
The trend towards restrictions described in the first snapshot of the enabling environment intensified in late 2025 and early 2026. In December 2025, an attempted coup was foiled when soldiers briefly announced that they had taken control of the government before the authorities reaffirmed the maintenance of constitutional order. The coup attempt of 7 December 2025 was swiftly quashed thanks to military support from Nigeria, ECOWAS, and French and Ivorian special forces. It was nevertheless followed by a wave of arrests targeting opponents and civilian activists, including former minister Candide Azannaï and Alassane Tigri, Vice-President of Les Démocrates, the sole opposition party. President Talon, nearing the end of his second and final constitutional term, is due to step down following the presidential election on 12 April 2026, which is taking place against a backdrop of unprecedented political stifling: the opposition lost all parliamentary representation following the legislative elections of 11 January 2026, with a turnout of 36.73 per cent – the lowest turnout in any election in Benin over the past twenty years. In the parliamentary elections of 11 January 2026, the opposition won no seats in the National Assembly due to the thresholds imposed by a new electoral code, which requires a party to obtain at least 20% of the vote nationally and in each of the 24 departments to be represented. These results come against a backdrop where electoral rules, combined with security incidents and the exclusion of key opposition figures, have significantly reduced political competition, influencing democratic dynamics in the run-up to the presidential election.
