Benin Republic Lawmakers Ammend Presidential Term To Seven-year

The country’s constitution has been amended by the National Assembly of Bénin (National Assembly Benin), establishing a bicameral parliament and extending the presidential term from five to seven years.

In a post shared on Facebook on Saturday by the Assemblée Nationale du Bénin, lawmakers announced that the bill was passed during a plenary session held on Friday at the Palace of the Governors in Porto-Novo.

According to the Assembly, 90 deputies voted in favour and 19 against, approving the amendment to the Constitution of 11 December 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.

The legislative body added that, in line with Article 154, the proposal first had to secure the required three-quarters majority during a preliminary vote. Deputies met this threshold with 87 votes for and 22 against, before proceeding to the final secret ballot.

The post, originally published in French, has been translated by PUNCH Online using Google Translate.

According to the Assembly’s breakdown, 15 new articles were created and 18 amended.