At stake in this election:

• 83 seats in the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Thomas Boni YAYI
• Head of Government: President Thomas Boni YAYI
• Assembly: Benin has a unicameral National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) with 83 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
• In the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) 83 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

*** Seats are split into 24 multi-member constituencies creating a low district magnitude.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Cauris Forces for an Emerging Benin / Forces Cauris pour un Bénin Emergent (FCBE)*
  • Leader: Boni YAYI
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Alliance: Union Makes the Nation / L'Union fait la Nation (UN)
  • Leader: Adrien HOUNBEDJI
  • Seats won in last election: N/A

* The party was formed after the last election.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 9,056,010 (July 2010 est.)
• Registered Voters: 3,629,837 (2011)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 4,910,656 (2011)

·         Is Benin a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (11 November 1981)

·         Has Benin ratified CEDAW: Yes (12 March 1992)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 8 (following 2011 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 166 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Benin a signatory to CRPD: Yes (8 February 2008)

·         Has Benin ratified CRPD: Yes (5 July 2012)

·         Population with a disability: 1,358,401 (est.)