COTONOU, Benin (AP) — Benin Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni won the country's presidential election held Sunday with over 94% of votes, according to election officials, fulfilling the expectation he was the anointed successor after President Patrice Talon's decade in power.
The outcome was based on more than 90% of votes counted with voter turnout of 58.75%, Sacca Lafia, head of the West African country’s independent electoral commission, announced on national television late Monday.
The final results must be confirmed by Benin's constitutional court and are expected in the coming weeks.
Paul Hounkpè, the sole opposition candidate who received 5.95% of votes, conceded defeat ahead of the announcement Monday.
Wadagni, 49, was considered the chosen heir to Talon, who is stepping down at the end of May after serving in office from 2016 to 2026. Analysts had predicted a sidelined opposition would result in Wadagni’s win.
Talon leaves a mixed legacy of economic growth, a growing jihadi insurgency in the north and the suppression of opposition critics. While Benin has historically been among the most stable democracies in Africa, opposition leaders and human rights organizations have accused Talon of using the justice system as a tool to sideline political opponents.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch denounced a sustained crackdown on dissent under Talon, citing arbitrary detentions, tighter restrictions on public demonstrations and mounting pressure on independent media outlets.
In a parliamentary election in January, the opposition failed to cross the threshold of support from 20% of registered voters in each of the country’s voting districts before standing for election, leaving Talon’s two allied parties with control of all 109 seats in the National Assembly.
Renaud Agbodjo, leader of The Democrats, the main opposition party, was barred from competing in Sunday's vote after failing to secure enough parliamentary endorsements, which critics say is a threshold engineered to keep out rivals.
FILE - Benin's Economy and Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, left, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel shake hands prior to a meeting at the chancellery as part of the "Compact with Africa" conference, in Berlin, Nov. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
Presidential candidate Romuald Wadagni greets supporters at a campaign rally in Cotonou, Benin, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Abadjaye Justin Sodogandji)
BERLIN (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Tuesday in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose country is one of Ukraine’s biggest supporters, as Kyiv battles to defeat Russia’s all-out invasion, now in its fifth year.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was also holding talks with his counterpart, Mykhailo Fedorov, the former Ukrainian digital transformation chief who took up his new post in January and is credited with advancing military drone technology.
U.S.-led efforts to end Russia's war on Ukraine have recently petered out as the Iran war grips the Trump administration’s attention, although Tammy Bruce, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that Washington “will continue to push for a negotiated and durable end” to the war.
Western analysts and officials say Ukraine has in recent months recorded battlefield successes against Russia’s bigger army, disrupting a spring offensive started by Russia amid improving weather, as fields dry out and new foliage on tree lines offers more cover.
Meanwhile, the long-range drones and missiles that Kyiv designs and produces are repeatedly striking oil facilities and manufacturing plants deep inside Russia.
Ukraine “is in a much better place than it has been at any stage in this horrific war,” Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Monday.
Ukraine “is on top from a military perspective,” Stubb claimed, noting that last month Ukraine fired more drones and missiles at Russia than Russia launched at Ukraine.
Moscow has also claimed progress on the battlefield. Independent verification of each side’s claims was not possible.
Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine. That includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.
Ukraine is desperately short of cash and needs a promised 90-billion-euro ($106 billion) loan from the European Union. That was being held up by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, but his departure as prime minister after weekend elections could free up the sum.
Kyiv is also heavily reliant on U.S. intelligence for targeting inside Russia and needs more sophisticated American-made air defense systems to stop Russian missile attacks on its power grid. If the Iran war drags on, it could erode vital U.S. support for Kyiv, Zelenskyy fears.
Furthermore, the Ukrainian army is short-handed, facing some 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by around 2 million people, Fedorov, the defense minister, said in January.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
German chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for German-Ukrainian government consultations in Berlin Germany, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
German chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for German-Ukrainian government consultations in Berlin Germany, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
German chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for German-Ukrainian government consultations in Berlin Germany, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
