Benin's ruling coalition has picked Economy Minister Romuald Wadagni as its candidate for the 2026 presidential election, Wadagni and party officials told AFP on Sunday.

The current head of state, President Patrice Talon, who has been in power since 2016, has maintained that he will not seek a third term, in line with the constitution.

The presidential majority is made up of several parties, including the Republican Bloc (BR) and the Progressive Union for Renewal (UP-R).

"Romuald Wadagni is the candidate of the parliamentary and presidential majority. He is the candidate of each one of us. He is my candidate," said UP-R president Joseph Djogbenou in a statement.

Unanimous decision

Several officials from the two parties said the choice of Wadagni was unanimous and had been made during a closed session at Talon's residence overnight from Saturday to Sunday

Wadagni, 49, is widely seen as one of Talon's closest collaborators since he came to power.

The former Deloitte audit and consulting executive who studied in France and the United States, was appointed economy minister in 2016.

Over the past ten years, Benin has displayed robust growth, regularly exceeding 6% annually.

Proponent of fiscal discipline

Wadagni, a proponent of fiscal discipline, advocated for a restructuring of the African debt during the COVID pandemic, rather than calling for its cancellation – earning the trust of international investors.

In recent years, Benin has also consistently received favourable ratings from international agencies and successfully issued bonds on both regional and international markets.

For some years now, Talon has also involved his minister in discussions over defence matters, a crucial sector for the West African country.

Wadagni's main rival in the April 2026 election is expected to be the candidate of The Democrats (LD), the party of former president Thomas Yayi Boni but their candidate is not yet known.