The voting at the parliamentary elections in Benin took place in a calm atmosphere, and there were no attempts to destabilize the situation. The Russian embassy in the republic told TASS.
"The elections were held in a calm atmosphere, there were no attempts to destabilize the situation," the diplomatic mission said.
According to the embassy, vote counting is currently taking place. "The preliminary results of the elections will be announced by the National Autonomous Election Commission of Benin on January 11 this year," added there.
Voting for Benin's unicameral parliamentary elections started Sunday with the main opposition parties, which were barred from the previous elections in 2019. The current parliament is elected for three years, a year less than the previous one. This regulation was established by a constitutional amendment passed in 2019, which set the term of parliament at five years beginning in January 2026, so that general elections would coincide with presidential and municipal elections. Another feature of the current elections is the introduced quota of 24 seats for women deputies.
The previous parliamentary elections held in Benin four years ago, where opposition party candidates were not allowed to run, resulted in large demonstrations of protest with riots. In these elections, the main opposition parties have fielded candidates in all constituencies. The previous parliament was entirely pro-presidential, with only two parties - the Union of Progressives and the Republican Bloc - having representation. In the current election, four parties support the incumbent president, Partis Talon. They are opposed by three opposition parties.
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Photo: David7455/Creative Commons 4.0
Based on materials from TASS