With voting nine months away, the campaigning and political tractations ahead of Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential elections are under way. The outcome will reverberate across the region. President Alassane...

The Cotonou political class is in shock following the detention of Olivier Boko, a close associate of President Patrice Talon, and former sports minister Oswald Homéky, amid allegations...

The arrest of five Nigérien oil technicians in Benin at the beginning of June has sparked accusations of ‘kidnapping’ and ‘hostage-taking’ from General Abdourahamane Tiani’s regime and has...

Facing the challenges of succession or a high-risk bid for a third term, President Patrice Talon has been buffeted by the junta-versus-civilian-regime rivalries playing out in West Africa....

Having broken the government's monopoly in the national assembly, winning 28 of the 109 seats in last Sunday's legislative elections, the Démocrates have established themselves as the principal...

The country's constitutional system is starting to work again despite President Patrice Talon's authoritarian instincts. Last month the Constitutional Court ordered the Commission Électorale Nationale Autonome (CENA) to...

African and European officials have agreed to move the centre for counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel from Mali to Niger but questions remain about how to manage the...

Sentenced to 20 years in jail on terrorism charges, the outspoken ex-minister Reckya Madougou has been formally removed from the Béninois political scene, as has the respected constitutional...

After excluding all credible opposition candidates, President Patrice Talon won another five years in office with 86% of the vote, according to provisional results released as Africa Confidential...