The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has deployed a Long-Term Election Observation Mission (LTOEM) to the Benin ahead of the country’s presidential election scheduled for 12 April 2026.
The deployment was authorized by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, in line with established ECOWAS legal instruments. These include the Revised Treaty of 1993, the 1999 Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security, the 2001 Additional Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, and Article 53(c) of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (2008).
A total of fifteen (15) experts drawn from ECOWAS member states will be deployed across Benin from 22 March to 18 April 2026. During this period, the observers will cover all regions of the country to monitor the electoral process.
The mission comprises experts with diverse professional backgrounds, including constitutional law, political affairs, diplomacy, media, electoral operations, conflict prevention, gender and inclusion, and security.
The deployment of the mission underscores ECOWAS’s commitment to promoting credible, transparent, and peaceful elections across the West African region.