Voters in Benin go to the polls on Tuesday to choose 85 legislators from among 2,905 candidates in the third parliamentary election since the reintroduction of multiparty democracy there in 1990.
Of the 35 parties and political alliances registered for the election, around 20 are from the Mouvance presidentielle, the alliance that supports President Matthieu Kerekou.
Kerekou, a former military ruler who lost presidential polls in 1991 but was voted back in in 1996, has no party of his own.
The main rivals of the Mouvance presidentielle are the Renaissance du Benin (RB), led by ex-president Nicephore Soglo, and the Parti du Renouveau democratique (PRD), headed by Adrien Houngbedji, a former prime minister.
No party has a majority in the outgoing parliament.
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