2026 Budget of the National Assembly: A 12.85% Increase Adopted
On Monday, September 1, 2025, deputies of the 9th legislature adopted the budget of the National Assembly of Benin for the 2026 fiscal year.
SUMMARY
Meeting in plenary session at the Palais des Gouverneurs in Porto-Novo, they unanimously approved a budget set at 33,085,700,909 CFA francs, compared to 29,318,497,486 CFA francs in 2025—an increase of 12.85%.
Reasons for the increase
According to the president of the institution, Louis Gbèhounou Vlavonou, this increase is mainly due to expenses related to the installation of the new legislature in 2026 and to the repayment of the loan contracted for the construction of the new headquarters of the National Assembly.
Before the vote, President Vlavonou presented his colleagues with the status of execution of the 2025 budget, as of August 15, 2025. Expenditures committed amounted to just over 14 billion CFA francs, or 44% of the revised budget.
Concerns of the deputies
During the debates, several members raised concerns, particularly regarding:
- the reassessment of mission expenses abroad;
- the allocation of funds to inter-parliamentary friendship groups;
- the increase in fuel and depreciation costs for official vehicles.
The deputies also praised the work of the Questure, led by Labiou Amadou Djibril and Chantal Ayi, for the quality and clarity of the budget documents presented, as well as the technical support of the Questure’s directorate.
Revision of the rules of procedure
In addition to the budget, the plenary also unanimously adopted an alignment of Article 133 of the internal regulations, in accordance with Constitutional Court decision DCC 25-256.
The new article now specifies the expanded composition of the cabinet of the President of the National Assembly, notably including specialized units (internal audit, legal, communication), several advisers and assistants, as well as an aide-de-camp and deputy aide-de-camp.
In closing this second extraordinary session of 2025, President Louis Vlavonou congratulated all stakeholders for the quality of the work that led to the adoption of the 2026 budget and the regulatory revision.
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