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The Latest Breaking News from Patrice Talon

Benin election: Wadagni’s landslide win raises questions about his legitimacy

Romuald Wadagni won the 2026 presidential election in Benin with over 94% of the vote. Wadagni, 50, is a technocrat who became an influential finance minister under Patrice Talon from 2016 until his election.

The Conversation

Presidential favourite Wadagni elected in Benin with over 94 percent of votes

Benin presidential election favourite Romuald Wadagni swept to victory in the country's polls, according to provisional results, securing at least 94 percent of votes.

Radio France Internationale

Benin votes for new president amid 'severe restrictions' on civil liberties

Benin's election this Sunday will decide who takes over from President Patrice Talon after a decade in power. With only two candidates running and authorities clamping down on critics, the prospects for change are limited.

Radio France Internationale

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Benin holds presidential election four months after failed coup

As president Patrice Talon steps down after a decade, the west African country’s finance minister is favourite to win

The Guardian - UK

How reforms under Patrice Talon have reshaped the electoral competition in Benin

Benin voters will head to the polls on April 12, 2026 to elect their next president. This election comes at a time when Benin’s political landscape has been profoundly transformed by reforms to the party system and the electoral code. They have created new power balances and deliberately tightened the…

The Conversation

Niger accuses France, Benin and Cote d'Ivoire of sponsoring airport attack

Niger’s military ruler, Abdourahamane Tiani, has accused the presidents of France, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire of sponsoring an attack on Niamey international airport, which has since been claimed by Islamic State armed group.

Radio France Internationale

Benin heads to polls after failed coup shakes political landscape

Benin votes on Sunday in legislative and local elections that come just over a month after an attempted coup shook the commercial capital Cotonou. The vote follows weeks of campaigning and comes ahead of a presidential election in April.

Radio France Internationale

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France backs Benin after foiled coup as Ecowas warns of rising instability

France has confirmed it provided surveillance, observation and logistical backing to Benin’s armed forces during the weekend’s attempted coup, stepping in at the request of the authorities in Cotonou as loyalist troops moved to regain control.

Radio France Internationale

Nigerian troops held in Burkina Faso after ‘unfriendly’ emergency landing

Unauthorised touchdown comes less than 24 hours after Nigerian forces intervened in attempted coup in Benin

The Guardian - UK

Benin’s failed coup: three factors behind the takeover attempt

Military elements attempted to topple Benin’s government in early December 2025. However, unlike other coups across the Sahel and west Africa since 2020, this bid triggered a military response from Benin’s neighbours.

The Conversation

Benin coup leader's location and fate of hostages unknown after failed takeover

The apparent leader of a failed coup in Benin is on the run and the fate of hostages remains unclear a day after a group of soldiers attempted to overthrow the government of the West African nation

The Independent UK

France condemns attempted coup in Benin, president says situation is 'under control'

France has condemned the attempted coup Benin and has called on its nationals in the country to stay alert, as Benin’s President Patrice Talon confirmed that the coup had been thwarted and the situation was “totally under control”.

Radio France Internationale

Benin coup leader still on the run after thwarted government takeover

Benin’s President assured the public that the situation was under control after the attempted coup on Sunday

The Independent UK

West Africa's Latest Coup Attempt: Benin Soldiers Storm State TV Before Being Crushed by Loyalist Forces

Soldiers stormed Benin's state TV to oust President Patrice Talon, but loyalists crushed the coup. Fourteen, including Lt Col Pascal Tigri, were arrested in West Africa's latest failed power grab.

International Business Times UK

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The Guardian - UK

Troops and warplanes deployed in Benin after ‘failed coup attempt’

West African Ecowas forces sent to country after group of soldiers announced dissolution of government on state TV

Euronews

Benin interior minister says military coup attempt foiled by loyalist troops

Benin’s interior minister said a coup plot, announced by a group of soldiers on state-run television earlier on Sunday, has been foiled. Benin is the latest in a string of coups plotted across west Africa over the past few weeks.

Radio France Internationale

Benin authorities say coup attempt foiled, President Talon safe

Benin's interior minister on Sunday said that the army had thwarted an attempted coup by a group of soldiers. President Patrice Talon's entourage said he was safe while the regular army said it had regained control.

The Independent UK

Benin says situation ‘under control’ after apparent coup attempt

It comes after soldiers announced the country’s president had been removed

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The Conversation

Firing civil servants and dismantling government departments is how aspiring strongmen consolidate personal power – lessons from around the globe

With the recent confirmations of Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – two of the most controversial of President Donald Trump’s high-level administration nominees – the president’s attempt to remake government as a home for political loyalists continues.

International Business Times

Benin Seeks Home-grown Cotton 'Revolution'

Mathias Azonnoudo, a 50-year-old farmer in Benin, was taking a break sitting on a large pile of freshly picked cotton, which the government hopes will feed the country's nascent textile revolution.

The Independent UK

Two men close to Benin’s president sentenced to 20 years in prison for coup plot

Two men close to Benin’s president have been sentenced to 20 years in prison for plotting a coup in the small West African country

International Business Times

Benin Court Jails Two Ex-allies Of President For 20 Years

A court in Benin on Thursday sentenced two former allies of President Patrice Talon to 20 years in jail on charges of "conspiring against the authority of the state".

The Guardian - US

‘Africa is where I’m from’: why some Black Brazilians are moving to Benin

West African country is offering citizenship to descendants of enslaved persons taken from the continent, sparking huge interest in Brazil

The Independent UK

As Benin grants citizenship to slave descendants, it reckons with its own history in the trade

Some Americans and others are taking advantage of a new law in Benin that grants citizenship to those who can trace their lineage to the slave trade

The Conversation

Civilian support for military coups isn’t a bug – it’s a feature

In September 2024, authorities in Benin detained the country’s former sports minister and a prominent businessman for allegedly plotting a coup against the West African nation’s president, Patrice Talon. Had a putsch materialized, Benin would have joined a growing list of African countries to have experienced a military coup over…

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