Finance minister wins presidential election in African state

Romuald Wadagni obtained more than 94% of the vote, Benin’s electoral officials have said

Beninese Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni has secured a landslide victory in Benin’s April 12 presidential election, according to provisional results announced by the independent electoral commission.

Wadagni received 94.05% of the vote, leaving his only challenger, Paul Hounkpe, with just 5.95%, the West African country's independent electoral commission said on Monday. Hounkpe conceded defeat ahead of the declaration.

Nearly 8 million voters were registered for the election across more than 17,000 polling stations and turnout was 58.75%.

Wadagni, 49, a former investment banker, was backed by the two allied ruling parties, the Progressive Union for Renewal and the Republican Bloc. He was widely seen as outgoing President Patrice Talon’s preferred successor. He has served as finance minister since 2016 and campaigned on the country’s economic track record, including growth of about 7% last year.

Talon, who has led Benin since 2016, was not on the ballot and is stepping down after completing the constitutional limit of two terms.

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The election came four months after a failed coup attempt, when mutinous soldiers tried to overthrow Talon’s government, citing an alleged deterioration in security in northern Benin and neglect of their “fallen brothers-in-arms.”

Dozens of people, including former sports minister and opposition figure Alassane Tigri, have been arrested on charges of organizing the failed December 2025 coup. Pascal Tigri, a lieutenant colonel identified as the rebellion’s leader, remains at large and is believed to be hiding in neighboring Togo.

The vote also followed a tense run-up marked by opposition allegations of restrictive candidacy rules. Of the five presidential tickets that filed nominations, three candidate pairs were barred from running after failing to meet electoral requirements.

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A pre-election assessment by the National Democratic Institute had earlier warned that the election was taking place amid “significant polarization, limited competition and rising insecurity” in the former French colony.

However, a 120-member observer mission deployed by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS and led by former Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said the vote unfolded in a “peaceful and calm atmosphere.”

Wadagni and his running mate, Mariam Chabi Talata, are due to serve a seven-year term once sworn in under constitutional changes adopted in 2025 that extended the presidential mandate from five years. Talata has served as Benin’s vice president since 2021.

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