Page 66 - Conducting Elections during COVID-19

48 INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF CONDUCTING ELECTIONS DURING COVID-19

Benin

Benin Local Elections – May 17, 2020

Municipal and communal elections took place across Benin to elect new local leaders on May 17, 2020
- a date that had been set since January 22, 2019.
The official campaign period had been fixed from May 1-15. Ahead of the vote, several groups called for
the elections to be postponed due to the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Instead, authorities held
that campaign messages would be disseminated mostly by media platforms as opposed to large-scale
campaign events so as to limit exposure to the disease.
Accordingly, Benin held its local elections despite some opposition amidst the global COVID-19
pandemic. Prior to the elections on May 17, the West African country enforced a raft of restrictions
aimed at curbing the spread of the disease. CENA, the National Election Authority made face masks
mandatory for voters and enforced social distancing at the polling stations.

Measures for safety against COVID-19 drawn along the lines of following fundamental principles were
observed during the election:

• Social distancing: The autonomous national election commission made face masks mandatory
for voters and enforced physical-distancing measures at polling stations.
• Health protection equipment for voters (masks, hand washing gel and soap);
• Electoral agents were provided with protective equipment;
• Election campaign conducted solely through media, with no rallies or gatherings, and carried out
with vehicles equipped with megaphones;
• Media campaign supervised by the High Authority for Audio-visual and Communication; and
• Political parties were subsidized by the state for this media campaign.- Campaigns leading to

Electoral agents and party observers at a polling station in Cotonou. Voter turnout was low.