Benin went to the polls over the weekend in legislative and local elections held just over a month after an attempted coup. The vote followed weeks of campaigning and comes ahead of a presidential election scheduled for April. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENA), around eight million registered voters were expected to elect 109 members of parliament alongside their local representatives. President Patrice Talon's governing coalition is projected to further consolidate its already dominant position, with the main opposition Democrats party barred from participating in the local polls. For more on this, is Dengiyefa Angalapu is a Research Analyst at the Centre for Democracy and Development

<p>Benin went to the polls over the weekend in legislative and local elections held just over a month after an attempted coup. The vote followed weeks of campaigning and comes ahead of a presidential election scheduled for April. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENA), around eight million registered voters were expected to elect 109 members of parliament alongside their local representatives. President Patrice Talon's governing coalition is projected to further consolidate its already dominant position, with the main opposition Democrats party barred from participating in the local polls. For more on this, is Dengiyefa Angalapu is a Research Analyst at the Centre for Democracy and Development</p>