Benin – January 11 elections: the Constitutional Court reassures ECOWAS.
On the eve of the legislative and municipal elections scheduled for Sunday, January 11, 2026, the president of the Constitutional Court, Professor Cossi Dorothé Sossa, granted an audience to a delegation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The meeting took place on Friday, January 9, in Cotonou, in the presence of the organization’s resident representative in Benin, Ambassador Amadou Diongue, head of mission.
This approach is part of the technical information mission deployed by ECOWAS on the occasion of the general elections in Benin.
It aimed to take stock of the level of preparation for the ballot and to assess the role of the ECOWAS in the legal framework of the electoral process.
At the end of the exchanges, the West African diplomat said he was satisfied with the assurances received.
“We have found an institution ready to fully assume its responsibilities,” he stated, praising the president of the Court’s availability and the clarity of the information provided on the mechanisms intended to guarantee the regularity of the vote.
Amadou Diongue recalled the central role played by the Constitutional Court in Benin’s electoral framework. As a judicial regulatory body, it is responsible for validating the results and settling disputes.
“To get information from the Court is to understand the heart of the process,” he summarized.
The delegation notably took note of several innovations implemented this year. These include, among other things, the early deployment of Court delegates to the field to directly observe facts in case of a dispute, as well as the strengthening of assistance teams composed of law professors and law students.
About 1,300 people have been mobilized across the country to monitor the conduct of the vote and relay useful information to the institution.
The head of the mission, however, stressed the nature of ECOWAS’s initiative.
This is not an electoral observation mission, a mission assigned to the African Union, but rather an information outreach to inform the various stakeholders in the electoral process, also with a view to the presidential election scheduled for next April.
In conclusion, Ambassador Diongue praised the president of the Constitutional Court’s open and serene demeanor, noting that these elements reflect the institution’s ability to play a decisive role in this phase of the general elections, described as unprecedented in Benin’s recent political history.
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