COTONAU: The ruling coalition's victory in the weekend's legislative elections was upheld by Benin's constitutional court on Friday, as was the opposition's re-entry into parliament after boycotts and exclusion from previous elections.

Two parties already in power, the Union Progressiste Le Renoveau and the Bloc Republicane, topped the final results, with 37.56 percent and 29.23 percent of the vote, respectively. Les Democrats, the party of former President Thomas Boni Yai, came third with 24.16 percent.

Yayi's supporters led the protest after opposition parties were shut out of a legislative vote in 2019 for failing to comply with strict new eligibility requirements.

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None of the remaining four parties is seeking representation in parliament by securing the 10% vote required for 109 seats.

The court pointed out that the voter turnout was only 37.79 percent, slightly lower than the 38.66 percent reported by the Election Commission.

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Yai's supporters led the demonstrations after he was disqualified from a 2019 legislative vote after failing to meet stricter new eligibility requirements.

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None of the remaining four parties, seeking 109 seats in parliament, managed to garner the required 10% of the vote. The Election Commission reported a voter turnout of 38.66 percent, but the court reported a much lower turnout of 37.79 percent.