Nigeria, Feb. 12 -- Just two months after a coup attempt, Benin's new Members of Parliament (MPs) were sworn in on 8 February. They were elected in January and will serve a seven-year term, in accordance with the new constitution promulgated on 17 December 2025.

These election results are key ahead of the April 2026 presidential polls, which will mark the fifth democratic change of leadership in Benin since the start of multiparty democracy in 1990. They will also affect the country's future political landscape.

The combined parliamentary and local elections were held one month after the foiled 7 December coup. The widely condemned coup attempt cast doubt on whether the election would go ahead, and raised concerns that instability could...