The Finance Minister of Benin, Romuald Wadagni, has been picked by the country’s ruling Coalition as presidential candidate in the upcoming presidential election.
Benin will go to the polls in 2026 to elect a replacement for incumbent President Patrice Talon who has confirmed that he will step down after two terms.
The two parties making the coalition, the Republican Bloc and the Progressive Union for Renewal, picked Finance Minister Wadagni.
The coalition referenced Wadagni’s experience and his alignment with Talon’s development agenda as part of the reasons for settling on him as their candidate.
Statements issued by the parties on Sunday appealed to activists and coalition members to support Wadagni.
Wadagni, a former Deloitte executive, joined the government in 2016 and as minister of economy and finance led reforms to strengthen public finances and fund infrastructure.
“He thus appears to be one of the best placed to continue and deepen the development actions initiated since 2016,” the Republican Bloc party’s statement pointed out.
The Progressive Union for Renewal party said that despite political stability and economic dynamism Benin still faced many challenges such as youth employment and purchasing power.
Political analyst Fidele Ayena told Reuters the selection reflects strong internal consensus and avoids the need for primaries, crediting Talon’s personal endorsement.
The presidents of other West and Central African countries plan to run for new terms this year, seeking to extend mandates beyond what was legally possible when they first took office.
Alassane Ouattara runs for a fourth term in Ivory Coast, Paul Biya for an eighth term in Cameroon and Faustin-Archange Touadera for a third term in Central African Republic.
These bids, enabled by constitutional revisions and legal loopholes, have revived anxiety about the state of democracy in the region, already damaged by a string of eight coups that unfolded between 2020 and 2023.
Source:Africa Publicity