Eligibility Exception:
conviction for crime, imprisonment of at least three months for certain offences, persons in contempt of court, undischarged bankruptcy
Registration Type:
Formal registration in office
Registration Basis:
Requirement short of residence (e.g. work, etc)
Election Management & Enforcement
Nameof EMB:
Autonomous National Electoral Commission (Commission électorale nationale autonome (CENA))
Independent EMB:
No
EMBNominations:
5 members selected by the National Assembly. Combined Expert and Party based membership.
Restrictto Candidacy:
No one may be a candidate for the office of President of the Republic unless: He is of Béninese nationality at birth or shall have acquired it for at least ten years; He is of good morality and of great honesty; He enjoys all his civil and political rights; He is at least 40 years old but not more than 70 years old at the date of the filing of his candidacy; He resides in the territory of the Republic of Bénin at the time of the elections; He enjoys a satisfactory state of physical and mental well-being duly verified by a collegiate board of three doctors sworn and designated by the Constitutional Court.
Electoral System & Organisation
Elect System Main Election:
Majority
Main Election Type:
Presidential
Main Election Cycle:
5
Numb Round Main Election:
Two
Referenda_Law:
Constitution of 11 December 1990, art. 4, 58, 108, 155
Referenda_Binding:
Non-binding referendums on the municipal and provincial level are allowed.
Voting Machine:
None
Vote IDRequired:
ID not required
Polling Card:
Polling card compulsory
National Holiday Elect Day:
Never
Districting Source:
Parliament
Districting Flexibility:
For elections to the National Assembly, the national territory is divided into 24 electoral constituencies. For presidential elections, the whole country territory, including diplomatic missions and consulates abroad, forms a single constituency.
Polling Station
Average Voterby Polling Station:
284
Normal Opening Time Poll Station:
700
Normal Closing Time Poll Station:
1600
Polling Station Numbers:
13000
Listof Polling Station Buildings:
schools, public buildings
Accessibility Requirement:
Benin is a party to the UNCRPD
Ballot Box Transparency:
Mixed
Box Feeding System:
Voter
Vote Receipt:
No receipt
Count Locallyor Centrally:
locally
Manualor Automatic Count:
manual
Nature Counting Personnel:
The Electoral Councilsupervises voting operations and the centralization of results; is composed of five (05) members. They are chosen from among persons recognized for their competence and probity and are appointed as follows: – one (01) by the parliamentary majority; – one (01) by the parliamentary minority; – one (01) by the President of the Republic; – one (01) by the leader of the opposition; – one (01) magistrate, in office or not, appointed at a general meeting of magistrates. The members of the Electoral Council are appointed by decree of the Council of Ministers for a non-renewable term of five (05) years.
Ballot Paper
Ballot Type:
Paper
Singleor Multi Paper Ballot:
Single
Max Numberof Votesper Ballot:
2
Ballot Paper Type Description:
Single Ballot Paper with all candidate pictures
Ballot Paper Type Photo Upload:
YES
Ballot Photos:
Freely Allowed
Ballot Logos:
Freely Allowed
Orderof Candidatesor Parties:
random
Remote Voting
Remote Voting List:
proxy
Mobile Polling Stations:
No
Special Needs
Provision Illiterate Voters:
bring a relative who can assist in the voting process
Provision Blind Voters:
bring a relative who can assist in the voting process
Provision Deaf Voters:
bring a relative who can assist in the voting process
Provision Motor Handicap Voters:
bring a relative who can assist in the voting process
Targeted Initiatives
History Major Changes:
One-party elections held from 1979 until 1991.