Prominent Pan-African activist Kémi Séba has announced his candidacy for Benin’s 2026 presidential election. Séba, who revealed his intentions in a January 5 video statement, outlined three potential strategies to navigate Benin’s restrictive electoral code, which mandates sponsorship by at least 28 elected officials. The first strategy is to seek backing from the opposition party Les Démocrates, led by former president Boni Yayi. The second is to push for reforms to the electoral code, which he described as corrupt. If neither of these strategies works, Séba intends to deploy an initiative, tagged “Operation Jericho,” to demand changes. This tripartite approach combines mass protests, coalition-building, and stakeholder action to ensure genuine opposition representation. With municipal, legislative, and presidential elections slated for April 2026, candidates must file applications by October 2025. President Talon, serving his final term, has pledged not to seek constitutional amendments for re-election.
Source: africanews.
