Benin – 2026 Municipal Elections: CENA wraps up candidate registrations
The Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA) closed, at midnight on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, the period for submitting candidacy files, in accordance with the established electoral calendar. Several political parties filed in during the final hours to comply with the law.
SUMMARY
At midnight at CENA, president Sacca Lafia and his team ended the registration phase for candidacies for the 2026 municipal elections. On Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 7 p.m., no party had yet submitted its file, according to CENA’s Communications Directorate.
But the evening quickly took a decisive turn. At 7:49 p.m., the Forces Cauris pour un Bénin Émergent (FCBE) led the way, followed at 10:59 p.m. by the Union Progressiste le Renouveau (UP-R). In quick succession, MOELE-Bénin and Les Démocrates also registered before the Bloc Républicain (BR) closed the line at 11:46 p.m., just minutes before the official deadline.
A process under close scrutiny
This succession of late but well-ordered arrivals reflects a broad mobilization of political formations and a strict respect for the legal framework set by CENA. In a statement, the head of the institution, Sacca Lafia, had called on the parties to act responsibly. “The credibility of these elections is built from this very stage of submitting candidacy files,” he had reminded.
The president of CENA also insisted on compliance with electoral laws and on the need for each political formation to present candidates in the country’s 546 arrondissements, representing a total of 3,630 principal and substitute candidates.
“The absence of the required number of candidates on a list will, as a matter of fact, lead to its rejection by CENA, with no possibility of completing it afterwards,” he warned.
A digital platform to facilitate submissions
For this crucial phase, CENA had put in place an IT platform allowing political parties to compile and submit their lists more quickly and efficiently. “I am hopeful that each political party will make judicious use of it,” said Sacca Lafia.
The Commission’s technical and administrative teams remained mobilized until the last minute to receive the files, thereby ensuring a smooth and transparent conduct of the process.
after the close of candidacy registration, the phase of verification and validation of the files by CENA will begin. This step will precede the publication of the provisional list of parties selected for the municipal elections on January 11, 2026.
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