Electoral officials in Cotonou and Porto-Novo have begun manual counting of ballots following Benin’s presidential election held on April 12.
The process is being carried out without biometric verification systems such as BVAS, with officials relying on manual voter identification and collation of results.
Early results indicate that voters chose between two candidates: Romuald Wadagni, 49, the candidate of the ruling party and current Finance Minister, and opposition candidate Paul Hounkpè, 56.
The Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA) had earlier disqualified three other aspirants — Renaud Agbodjo, Prince Anatole Ouinsavi, and Élisabeth Agbossaga — in October 2025, leaving only two candidates on the ballot.
Nearly eight million registered voters participated in the election to choose a successor to President Patrice Talon, who is stepping down after completing two five-year terms in office. Talon has endorsed Wadagni as his preferred successor.
According to election rules, if no candidate secures more than 50 percent of valid votes cast, a runoff election will be held on May 10.
