April 12, 2026 presidential election: polling stations for the Beninese diaspora.

The aim is to enable Beninese citizens living outside the country to fully participate in the vote.
In Africa, several capitals and major cities host polling stations. In Senegal, Dakar has three polling stations. In Ivory Coast, Abidjan hosts one of the most extensive deployments with twenty-two polling stations. Nigeria is also among the best equipped countries, with centers open in Abuja, Lagos, and Ibadan. Polling offices are also installed in Burkina Faso, the Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea, reflecting a relatively wide regional coverage.

In Europe, France remains the main voting hub for the Beninese diaspora. In Paris, twenty polling stations have been planned to accommodate more than eleven thousand registered voters.
In the Americas, the United States and Canada are involved. Two polling stations are open in Washington, D.C., one in New York, while Montreal hosts two stations for voters registered in Canada.

The Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA) specifies that the election will take place on April 12, 2026, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. To vote, voters must present a valid form of identification, in accordance with the applicable rules.

Through this framework, the electoral body reiterates its intention to organize an inclusive vote, by integrating the diaspora into the national democratic process. It remains to assess the real impact of this external vote on a presidential election that is expected to be decisive for the political future of Benin.