Benin Republic Lawmakers Approve 7-yr Presidential Term, Create Senate

Lawmakers in the Republic of Bénin have approved a major constitutional amendment extending the presidential term from five to seven years, while introducing a bicameral parliament for the first time in the country’s history.

The decision followed a plenary session held on Friday at the Palace of the Governors in Porto-Novo, where the bill received overwhelming support from members of the National Assembly.

According to a statement posted Saturday on the official Facebook page of the Assemblée Nationale du Bénin, 90 deputies voted in favour and 19 against the law amending the Constitution of December 11, 1990, previously revised in 2019.

“The Deputies of the 9th Legislature… adopted by 90 votes for and 19 against, the law modifying the Constitution of the Republic of Bénin,” the statement read.

Before the final vote, the proposed amendment had to meet the constitutional requirement of a three-quarters majority, as stipulated in Article 154. Deputies crossed this threshold with 87 votes in favour and 22 against, paving the way for the decisive secret ballot.

The newly adopted reform introduces 15 new articles and amends 18 existing ones, with the most notable change being the modification of Article 42, which now stipulates that, “The President of the Republic is elected by direct universal suffrage for a term of seven years, renewable only once. No one may, in his or her lifetime, serve more than two terms as President of the Republic.”

In another reform, Article 79 now establishes a bicameral legislature comprising the National Assembly and a newly created Senate, both sharing legislative powers and oversight responsibilities.

“Beyond this major change, Parliament—under the amended Article 79, exercises legislative power and oversees government action. It is now composed of two chambers: the National Assembly and the Senate,” the statement added.

Under Article 80, deputies will also serve seven-year renewable terms, while a new anti-defection clause mandates the loss of mandate for any lawmaker who leaves the political party that sponsored them during elections.

“The term of office for deputies is 7 years, renewable. Any deputy who resigns and thereby ceases to be a member of the party that sponsored them for the legislative election loses their mandate,” the provision states.

The reform package also defines the Senate’s role in Article 113.1, describing it as an institution tasked with ensuring “national unity, development, territorial defence, public security, democracy, and peace.”

Furthermore, the tenure of mayors and municipal councillors has been extended to seven years, renewable, aligning local governance terms with the new national framework.