As the 2026 presidential election approaches, the debate over candidate sponsorship continues to stir the Beninese political scene. Former minister and ex-political adviser to the Force cauris pour un Bénin émergent (FCBE), Alain François Adihou, has responded to the March 2024 electoral reform and the recent Decision No. 2025/12 of the Commission électorale nationale autonome (CENA).

For him, these developments signal a “sign of openness, bringing hope and responsibility,” as they hint at the possibility of opening up sponsorship to non-partisan candidates.

The March 2024 reform of the Electoral Code, via its new Article 132, now requires sponsorship by 28 MPs or mayors from 15 electoral constituencies, strengthening the role of parties in the electoral process. This requirement has been criticized for its potential to exclude non-partisan candidates.

According to Adihou, the CENA partially eased this restriction through its decision of July 18, 2025. Independent candidates no longer have to prove prior membership in a political party; they now only need to present a formal designation by the party from which the sponsors come: Up-R, the Bloc Républicain or Les Démocrates, which makes them eligible to receive sponsorship.

Adihou believes that this flexibility opens up a new political space, allowing independents to negotiate directly with the parties providing sponsors. He calls it a “political opening to be welcomed with caution,” one that promotes a more participatory and calmer electoral process. In his view, the leaders of the major parties will now have to demonstrate their sense of the national interest by granting sponsorships to credible independent candidates.

Adihou also calls on the political leaders of the presidential majority, Up-R and Br, to show inclusiveness by cooperating with independent candidacies. For the former adviser, this CENA decision is a glimmer of renewal in Beninese democracy.