In Benin, a deputy can lose their mandate by decision of the Senate.

The Beninese Senate now has a mechanism allowing it to intervene when a deputy is implicated in certain acts or statements. The conditions and consequences of this procedure are outlined in Articles 49 and 50 of the internal regulations of the upper house, adopted on July 30, 2026, in Porto-Novo.

According to Article 49, the procedure can be initiated when a deputy is implicated for acts or statements that specifically undermine “national unity,” democracy, human rights, peace, public security, or political stability.

When a procedure is opened by the Senate, its president must inform their counterpart in the National Assembly. The president of the National Assembly must then announce the implication at the next plenary session.

A sanction that can have consequences on the mandate

Article 50 specifies the implementation methods for a potential sanction. If the Senate decides on a “suspension of political rights” against the deputy, its president must officially inform the president of the National Assembly as well as the concerned parliamentarian. During the entire suspension period, the deputy is “prohibited from accessing the work of the National Assembly.”

The regulations provide for an even more significant consequence in the event of the withdrawal of political rights. Such a decision “results in the revocation of the quality of deputy.”

Thus, according to the provisions of the internal regulations, the procedure can range from an implication to a suspension of political rights, or even, in the case of a withdrawal of these rights, to the loss of the status of deputy.

These provisions clarify the relations between the two chambers of the Beninese Parliament since the Senate began functioning. They notably grant the upper house a role in a procedure that can directly affect the status of a member of the National Assembly.