Benin: 35 appeals before the Supreme Court after the appointment of village and district chiefs

The process of renewing village and city quarter chiefs is entering a contentious phase in Benin. Thirty-five electoral appeals have been brought before the Supreme Court by individuals contesting various aspects of the appointments made in several localities.

It is now up to the high court to examine the admissibility of the requests and the arguments presented by the different parties. The accessible information does not yet specify the localities involved, the identity of all the petitioners, nor the detailed reasons for each appeal.

These challenges come a few weeks after the decision of the Autonomous National Electoral Commission setting the distribution of villages and city quarters among the political parties authorized to appoint their leaders.

On July 9, 2026, the CENA made public decision No. 024/CENA/PT/RAP/DGE/SP. The document identifies the localities assigned to the Progressive Union for Renewal and the Republican Bloc based on the final results of the municipal elections held on January 11, 2026.

An Appointment Based on the Results of the Municipal Elections

The Electoral Code stipulates that the chief of a village or city quarter be appointed by the party that received the highest number of valid votes in that local administrative unit, provided that this party is eligible to be awarded the seats.

The concerned party communicates the name of the selected person to the prefectural authority. This authority then proceeds to notify the mayor for the installation, in accordance with the deadlines set by electoral legislation.

For the 2026 municipal elections, the UP for Renewal and the Republican Bloc are the two parties affected by this distribution. The CENA’s decision also takes into account adjustments made to the results after the examination of previous electoral disputes by the Supreme Court.

The 35 new petitions may lead the Court to verify compliance with the procedure, the regularity of the acts taken, or the conformity of the appointments with the electoral results. The precise nature of the grievances, however, will need to be established during the examination of each case.

The Supreme Court is competent to hear disputes regarding municipal and local elections. In previous challenges related to the January 2026 municipal elections, it had already annulled certain elections, rejected requests, or proceeded to reallocate seats after reviewing the cases.

The expected decisions could either confirm the contested appointments or result in their reexamination in the concerned localities. They should allow for the continued installation of officials responsible for ensuring local administration in the villages and city quarters.