Cotonou – Benin, Thursday 05 June, 2025: As Benin gears up for pivotal legislative and presidential elections in 2026, leading pan-African digital rights organisation Paradigm Initiative (PIN) has raised serious concerns over the country’s growing pattern of online repression. This urgent appeal was made at the Benin edition of the Digital Rights and Elections in Africa Monitor (DREAM) on June 4, 2025, which highlighted rising concerns around online censorship, internet disruptions, surveillance, and disinformation.

Following the engagement with stakeholders in Benin’s electoral process, PIN urged authorities to implement concrete digital safeguards to ensure open, safe, and transparent elections. With digital platforms increasingly central to how voters receive information and engage in public debate, recent developments, including arrests for online speech, opaque surveillance, and potential internet shutdowns pose a threat to democratic participation. Without immediate action, PIN warned, these digital rights violations could erode the credibility of the electoral process.

“The digital environment in Benin is becoming increasingly hostile,” said ‘Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative. “From restrictive laws to past instances of internet disruption during elections, we are concerned that the digital space may again be weaponised to stifle civic voices in 2026.”

Since the adoption of the Digital Code in 2018, particularly Article 550 criminalising the dissemination of “false information,” journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens have faced arrests and intimidation for online expression. Past elections in 2019 and 2021 saw targeted social media shutdowns and internet disruptions that limited public access to critical electoral information.

Benin’s 2009 Data Protection Law created the national data authority (APDP), but enforcement remains weak. Civil society groups have raised concerns over non-transparent data collection practices and the absence of judicial oversight for surveillance activities. These trends undermine civic participation, freedom of expression, and electoral transparency, in contradiction with Benin’s commitments under international frameworks such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the Malabo Convention.

In light of these, PIN recommends the following:

To the Government of Benin:

• Guarantee uninterrupted internet access and prevent any shutdown or content blocking throughout the electoral process.
  
• Ensure that anti-disinformation measures are not weaponized to silence dissenting voices or legitimate criticism.
  
• Enhance transparency and judicial oversight in digital surveillance practices.
  

To the National Electoral Commission (CENA):

• Provide timely and unrestricted access to the final electoral roll for all stakeholders.
  
• Ensure that digital tools used in the electoral process are reliable, inclusive, and accessible.
  
• Strengthen training for electoral staff on digital literacy and data protection.
  

To the Media and Journalists:

• Uphold professional ethics and avoid publishing disinformation or inciting content.
  
• Engage in fact-checking initiatives and support digital literacy for the public.
  

To Civil Society Organizations (CSOs):

• Actively monitor and document digital rights violations during the election period.
  
• Advocate for reforms that align national laws with international digital rights standards.
  

To International Partners and Technology Platforms:

• Support local initiatives promoting digital rights through capacity-building and funding.
  
• Collaborate with local actors to develop context-specific solutions that address disinformation without infringing on fundamental rights.
  

To Political Parties:

• Uphold responsibility in online campaigning, avoiding hate speech and the intentional spread of disinformation.
• Commit to peaceful and constructive digital engagement through signed public pledges promoting responsible use of digital platforms.

Paradigm Initiative on its part, has committed to stay  vigilant during this electoral period. . PIN’s call comes as part of its broader push to safeguard digital rights in African electoral cycles. 

About PIN

Paradigm Initiative (PIN) connects under-served young Africans with digital opportunities and ensures the protection of their rights. We have worked in communities across Nigeria since 2007 and across Africa since 2017, building experience, community trust, and an organisational culture that positions us as a leading non-profit in ICT for Development and digital rights on the continent.

Across our regional offices in Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and beyond, we have impacted more than 150,000 youth with improved livelihoods through our digital inclusion and digital rights programmes. Our programmes include Life Skills, ICT Skills, Financial Readiness and Entrepreneurship (LIFE) training programme, a digital readiness workshop for youth, and LIFE at School club programme.

We have also built online platforms that educate and serve as safe spaces for reporting digital rights violations. These mediums include reports, short films, and educational online platforms, including Ayeta, Londa, and Ripoti.