A week after announcing his candidacy for the 2026 presidential election in Benin, Daniel Edah revisited the foundations of his announcement during an interview on public service. The declared candidate is banking on a long-contemplated vision rather than immediate political calculations. He advocates for a project-based approach, not just a quest for endorsements, and appeals for a collective awakening to reconcile political ambition with national benefit.
Speaking on the airwaves of Bénin TV, Daniel Edah officially confirmed his candidacy for the 2026 presidential election. The former international civil servant, a well-known figure in the Beninese political landscape, aims to carry forward an economic and social transformation project that he has supported for nearly a decade. Facing journalist Bio-Maman, he insisted on clarifying his approach by emphasizing a “clear vision” instead of an obsession with endorsements.
“Before endorsements, there must be a vision,” insisted Daniel Edah. For him, the current political context, structured around three major blocs, should not prevent a citizen from making their voice heard. “Since 2014, we have advocated for an economically prosperous and socially stable Benin, in a well-integrated Africa,” he reminded before lamenting a politics too often reduced to power issues rather than societal projects.
Before reaching endorsements, the blocs will choose their candidate. On what basis? Whoever claims to carry a project for the country must start by announcing it. Unless you tell me that the blocs will choose without considering the real capacity of contenders to provide solutions to current problems. And I take this opportunity to tell all young Beninese — at least those younger than me and people from my generation: don’t let yourselves get blocked by systems that stifle creativity. For now, we are not yet at the candidacy submission stage.
According to him, the first step for any presidential ambition must be a concrete proposal for the country. “A candidate with all the endorsements but no vision is useless for this country,” he declared. He calls on young people and political actors of his generation not to get trapped in restrictive system logics or electoral codes.
Let’s not put the cart before the horse. To be a candidate, it’s not enough to gather endorsements. The first step is to have a vision: where do we want to take the country? The vision that Daniel Edah carries has not been around since 2024, the year the code was modified, nor even since 2019. It’s since 2014 that we have been speaking about our vision of an economically prosperous and socially stable Benin, in a well-integrated and thriving Africa. …, you want to tell me that as soon as a code comes along and sets barriers, Edah must be silent and never speak of his vision again because a code arrived?
When asked about the absence of a clearly declared political party to support his candidacy, Edah responded cautiously. He states that he is part of the consultation framework of opposition political forces but deliberately keeps his alliances ambiguous. “I extend a hand to all officials, both from the ruling side and the opposition. Benin needs reconciliation and unity.”
On the issue of the timeline, Daniel Edah asserts he has “an agenda and no one will rush it.” For now, he says, the moment is for explaining the project and mobilizing around the vision. “Those without vision want us to talk about endorsements. I talk about economic transformation, investments, and the creation of production units in the 77 communes.”
And what I propose is an economically prosperous and socially stable Benin, in a well-integrated and thriving Africa. What is an economically prosperous Benin? It’s a Benin attractive to national and foreign investors. It’s a service country, a preferred destination for multinationals choosing to establish there to conquer the sub-regional market. It’s a Benin that moves from a consumer economy to a production economy, with production and processing units in each of our 77 communes, to provide our local economies with their indispensable backbone.
As for the critics who deem his approach unrealistic, even disconnected, Daniel Edah fully embraces his strategy, as he insists, “great achievements have always started with dreams.”
I cannot just get up and say I’m a candidate if I don’t know where I’m going and how I’m getting there. But allow me not to tell you, at the moment you want, what you want to hear.
In choosing Bénin TV, a public service, for his first media appearance after declaring his candidacy, Daniel Edah also intends to demonstrate respect for institutions and the state. “We cannot claim to want to govern this country and refuse the invitation of public service. But that doesn’t mean we must reveal everything right now,” he concluded.