Benin's electoral commission said on Thursday it had excluded the main opposition candidate from standing in the April 2026 presidential election.

The CENA rejected the candidacy of Renaud Agbodjo, the representative of the main opposition Democrats party, on the grounds that he did not have sufficient sponsors.

Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni is the candidate for the multi-party alliance of current President Patrice Talon, which has a majority of seats in parliament.

Talon, who has been in power since 2016, is not seeking re-election, having reached his two-term limit.

Opposition candidate can appeal

Wadagni, 49, is widely seen as one of Talon's closest collaborators.

Just one other candidate has qualified so far for the presidential election – Paul Hounkpe of the smaller opposition FCBE.

Agbodjo had been selected by the Democrats as their candidate earlier this month.

The 43-year-old lawyer can appeal against the decision to exclude him from the race before the final candidates' list is published on October 31.

'Invalid' sponsorship

To be eligible to stand, all candidates must be sponsored by at least 28 sitting members of parliament.

The Democrats have exactly 28 MPs. But the CENA said one of them, Michel Sodjinou, had submitted an "invalid" sponsorship, leaving Agbodjo with just 27 backers.

Last week, Sodjinou had contested the Democrats' choice of Agbodjo as its candidate and challenged it in court.