The electoral commission in Benin has began accepting nomination papers from presidential candidates in the upcoming elections in April.

The candidates are expected at the commission's headquarters from Monday.

The head of the commission Emmanuel Tiando said the next presidential elections will be governed by a new legal framework.

In the new provisions of the constitution and the electoral code the candidacy will comprise of a joint ticket: president and vice-president, as well as "the obligation for each pair of candidates to be sponsored by at least 16 legislators and/or mayors".

Potential candidates will, therefore, have to take this into account in preparing their application files so as not to see their applications rejected for incompleteness.

Mr Tiando reassured the general public and the political players that his institution would accomplish its mission in full transparency.

The country's opposition was not part of the 2019 legislative elections as no opposition party met the requirements.