2026 legislative and municipal elections in Benin: the CENA and political parties approve samples of the single ballot
The Commission électorale nationale autonome met on Monday, December 8, 2025, with representatives of the parties participating in the upcoming legislative and municipal elections scheduled for January 11, 2026.

The session, held at the institution’s new headquarters, was devoted to presenting, analyzing and adopting the single-ballot designs for both elections.
The meeting opened with a minute of silence in tribute to the citizens who lost their lives during the events linked to the December 7 attempted coup. The president of the Céna, Sacca Lafia, then stressed the stakes of the meeting and urged party delegates to carefully examine the technical proposals submitted by the institution.
The ballot templates were displayed and reviewed in turn. The parties made several observations, some of which were regarded as significant in the process of refining the samples.
This phase of exchanges led to adjustments intended to ensure the legibility and compliance of the single ballot, a cornerstone of electoral transparency.
The Céna thus continues implementing its operational schedule, determined to offer the country a stable, secure and technically flawless electoral process, despite the tense context of recent days.
The institution intends to maintain dialogue with political actors in order to ensure that the elections are held in a calm atmosphere and in line with democratic standards.
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