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The Republic of Benin has no relation to the pre-colonial Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria.
| Republic of Benin République du Bénin | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
.svg.png) | |
| Capital | Porto-Novo |
| Largest city | Cotonou |
| Dominant mode of production | Capitalism |
| Government | Unitary presidential republic under a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie |
• President | Patrice Talon |
• Vice President | Mariam Chabi Talata |
| Area | |
• Total | 114,763 km² |
| Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 13,754,68 |
| Currency | West African CFA franc (XOF) |
| Calling code | +229 |
| ISO 3166 code | BJ |
| Internet TLD | .bj |
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, formerly known as Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the northwest, Niger to the northeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the south.
History[edit | edit source]
Socialist rule[edit | edit source]
See main article: People's Republic of Benin (1975–1990)
21st Century[edit | edit source]
Patrice Talon came to power in 2016 and soon after changed electoral rules to prevent opposition parties from being able to run in future elections. To contest elections presidential candidates required endorsements from at least 10% of the mayors and parliamentarians, all of which were from Talon's ruling coalition. After winning a second term in 2021 Talon continued cracking down on the opposition he had barred from running, imprisoning political opponents.[1]
The Democrats were able to make a comeback in the 2023 elections achieving 24% of the vote but not long after Talon's coalition changed the electoral rules again. The endorsement and parliamentary requirements were raised to prevent the opposition from making more gains and the Democrats subsequently lost all their seats in the following election.[1]
In Decemeber 2025 progressive forces launched a coup attempt against the corrupt government with mass support. Foreign forces led by France, Talon's main backer, were quick to intervene and crush the coup attempt ensuring Talon's neocolonial regime remained in power. Propped up by imperialist support, Talon continued cracking down on opposition, arresting opposition leaders and prohibiting protests.[1]
With Talon's term limit running out, Romuald Wadagni, his finance minister, was chosen as his succesor and presidential elections were held. The elections were widely boycotted by the population and ballot stuffing was required by the regime to inflate voter turnout. Wadagni won the election with an alleged 94% of the vote while bourgeois media declared Benin “among the most stable democracies in Africa”.[1]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Pavan Kulkarni (2026-04-16). "Intra-regime succession in Benin, dressed up as an election" People's Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2026-04-17.