Benin holds presidential election amid deteriorating security situation

Benin is facing harsh economic conditions and security challenges that its new leader will have to address.Voting is under way in Benin’s presidential election with long-serving Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni expected to win in the absence of a major challenger.Polls opened at 7am (06:00 GMT) on Sunday and will close at 4pm (15:00 GMT). More than 7.9 million people are registered to vote, including 62,000 in the diaspora.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Benin settles after failed coup attempt, but regional concerns remainlist 2 of 3Has Benin’s foiled coup made ECOWAS a West African heavyweight once more?list 3 of 3A marriage of three: Will Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso bloc reshape the Sahel?end of listBacked by the two main parties in the governing coalition and the outgoing president, Patrice Talon, Wadagni, a 49-year-old former Deloitte executive, is being challenged by Paul Hounkpe, an opposition figure and former culture minister whose campaign has been low-key.The member of the Benin" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="110849" data-entity-type="organization">Cowry Forces for ⁠an Emerging Benin party got on the ballot with help from lawmakers of the two main ruling coalition parties after they refused to endorse the candidacy of Rene Agbodjo, head of the opposition Democrats party.Talon, 67, is barred from running again after two terms in office and is expected to step down with a legacy of mixed results: economic growth, which reached 7 percent last year, but also a clampdown on the opposition and his critics. In December, a group of military officers also tried and failed to overthrow Talon’s government.The new president will have to address major challenges, including a huge gap between the poor and well-off. The poverty rate is estimated at more than 30 percent, and many Beninese complain that the benefits of the economic growth over the past decade have not trickled down to them.Benin’s economic growth will also depend on improving security and stabilising the country. Benin has been the hardest hit among coastal West African states by armed fighters from the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate that has made major gains in the central Sahel region.