Former Benin Republic President Patrice Talon has returned to frontline politics after being elected as the country’s first Senate President, just months after leaving office as president.
Talon secured an overwhelming victory in Thursday’s secret ballot, polling 24 of the 25 votes cast, with only one blank ballot, to become the head of Benin’s newly established upper legislative chamber for a five-year term.
The Senate was created following a constitutional reform approved by Talon in November last year, a move his administration said was aimed at strengthening political stability in the West African nation.
His election marks a dramatic political comeback after stepping down from office following the April presidential election, which produced former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as Benin’s new president.
Wadagni won the election in a landslide, securing more than 94 per cent of the votes cast.
Before leaving office, Talon reflected on his time as president, saying he departed with a sense of fulfilment.
“I am leaving office with the feeling of having given my best, of having led the country to take some steps forward in all areas”.
Although former President Thomas Boni Yayi, founder of the opposition party Les Démocrates du Bénin, initially indicated interest in contesting for the Senate presidency, he eventually withdrew after failing to secure sufficient support among members of the newly constituted Senate.
Unlike the lower legislative chamber, members of Benin’s Senate are appointed rather than elected.
Explaining his decision to seek the office, Talon described the new institution as vital to the country’s democratic future.
He described the Senate as a “chamber of wisdom, counsel, conciliation, and appeasement” and said it would be a mistake not to serve in it.
Talon’s emergence as the first Senate President marks a historic milestone in Benin’s political evolution, making him the first former president in the country’s history to immediately assume leadership of the newly created upper chamber after leaving office.
