Benin: CENA sets the schedule for the 2026 general elections
The Commission électorale nationale autonome (CENA) published, on October 8, 2025, the official schedule for the 2026 general elections, which will be combined between the legislative and communal elections. The polls are scheduled for Sunday, January 11, 2026.
SUMMARY
According to the document signed by the president of CENA, Sacca Lafia, the receipt of the statistics of the computerized voter list opened the process on July 15, 2025. Two days later, on July 18, CENA published the decision setting out the documents to be provided and the procedures for submitting candidacies.
The posting of the voter list by ANIP is scheduled from October 15 to 29, 2025, a crucial step in the transparency of the process.
Registration and validation of candidacies
Registration of candidacies for the election of members of the communal councils will take place from October 24 to 28, 2025, followed by the publication of the parties that filed their dossiers on October 29, 2025.
As for the legislative elections, candidate declarations will be registered from November 8 to 12, 2025, and the list of parties in the running published on November 13.
The official receipt of the computerized voter list (LEI) will also occur on that date.
Electoral campaign and conduct of the vote
The electoral campaign will be held from December 26, 2025 to January 9, 2026. The single ballots will be handed to political parties between December 15 and 19, 2025.
The election day is set for Sunday, January 11, 2026, when Beninese voters will be called upon to simultaneously elect the members of the National Assembly and the communal councils.
The final results of the communal elections will be published from January 12 to 13, 2026, while those of the deputies’ election will be released between January 12 and 13 in provisional form, before final validation.
Finally, the publication of the list of localities where each party is authorized to appoint village or neighborhood chiefs is scheduled for February 10, 2026.
These combined elections mark a first in the country’s recent political history, by grouping the legislative and communal elections in a single poll.
For CENA, this organization aims to streamline the electoral process, reduce costs and encourage greater citizen participation.
With this now-official schedule, the Beninese political class enters the final stretch before the big date of January 11, 2026, which will open a new page in the nation’s democratic life.
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