Former Beninese President Patrice Talon has been elected the country’s first Senate president, just months after completing his second and final term in office.
Gatekeepers News reports that Talon secured 24 of the 25 votes cast to lead the newly established upper chamber for a five-year term, with one ballot left blank.
The election was conducted behind closed doors through a secret ballot on Thursday.
Talon’s return to frontline politics had been anticipated after he approved a constitutional reform in November last year that created the Senate. His administration said the reform was aimed at strengthening political stability and improving the country’s institutional framework.
Benin held its presidential election in April, with Romuald Wadagni, then minister of finance, winning a landslide victory with more than 94 percent of the vote.
Before leaving office, Talon said he was “leaving office with the feeling of having given my best, of having led the country to take some steps forward in all areas”.
His return to political prominence had also raised speculation of a contest with Thomas Boni Yayi, another former president and founder of the opposition party Les Démocrates du Bénin.
Yayi had expressed interest in challenging Talon for the Senate presidency but lacked sufficient support among members of the newly created chamber, who are appointed rather than directly elected. He subsequently decided not to contest the position.
Talon described the Senate as a “chamber of wisdom, counsel, conciliation, and appeasement” and said it would be a mistake not to serve in the institution.
His election makes him the first occupant of the newly created position and keeps him at the centre of Benin’s political affairs after 10 years as president.
