In Benin, the country's main opposition party, Les Démocrates, will not participate in the April 2026 presidential election. The Constitutional Court has not responded favorably to the four appeals filed by members of this party to validate the candidacy of the Agbodjo-Lodjou duo.

She rejected all these requests, definitively finalizing the list of candidate duos for the April 2026 election.

Candidate pairs validated by the Constitutional Court

The starting lineup will therefore be the presidential majority duo, consisting of current Minister of Economy Romuald Wadagni and current Vice President of Benin Mariam Chabi Talata. They will face the duo of the Cauris Forces for an Emerging Benin (FCBE) party, composed of Paul Hounkpè and Rock Judicaël Hounwanou.

After 2021, the Democrats will once again fall by the wayside, due to one of their own. Indeed, it was MP Michel Sodjinou, who refused to grant his endorsement to the pair of candidates nominated by his political party, arguing that they had been chosen following "manipulation and a lack of consultation." He immediately filed a lawsuit with the Cotonou court to cancel the endorsement form already submitted to the party's president, Boni Yayi. The court granted his request, ordering the National Autonomous Electoral Commission (Céna) to invalidate the previous endorsement form. The body expressly complied with this injunction.

In its decision yesterday, Monday, October 27, the Constitutional Court did not challenge the order of the judge of the Court of First Instance of Cotonou. Nor did it condemn the Electoral Commission for implementing this decision. In its view, the institution "violated neither the Electoral Code nor the Constitution." So, this little legal saga comes to an end.