Benin is voting for a new president on Sunday, with nearly eight million voters eligible to cast ballots to choose a successor to Patrice Talon.
President Talon is stepping down after two five-year terms and has endorsed Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni as his potential successor.
Turnout will be a crucial factor after a lacklustre campaign hit by voter apathy.
Backed by the two main ruling parties, Wadagni is widely expected to win. He is being challenged by Paul Hounkpe, an opposition figure whose campaign has been very low-key and who needed help from majority lawmakers to secure the required parliamentary endorsements to get on the ballot.
The main opposition The Democrats party is not fielding a candidate as its leader, Renaud Agbodjo, failed to secure the required number of parliamentary endorsements needed to contest the vote.
Wealth gap amid economic growth
The ruling majority blames The Democrats' exclusion on internal divisions. Several senior figures in the party joined Wadagni's campaign.
Benin's next elections will only take place in 2033, as a constitutional reform passed last year has extended the presidential term from five to seven years and synchronised all elections to take place then.
Hounkpe meanwhile has promised to release "political prisoners".
The country has seen burgeoning growth during the Talon decade: GDP has doubled, growth has surpassed 6% each year, tourism has expanded and numerous infrastructure projects have been completed.
As the architect of this development from his 10 years at the finance ministry headed by Wadagni, who embodies continuity.
But major challenges remain, including a huge gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Security challenge
"The next phase of the country's development will be the eradication of extreme poverty. That is one of his priorities," said one of Wadagni's close associates.
The poverty rate is estimated at more than 30% and many Beninese complain that the benefits of the economic growth over the past decade have not trickled down to them.
Benin's economic growth will also depend on ushering in security and stabilising the country.
Benin's north is plagued by increasingly deadly terrorist violence, which has been spreading from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.
If he is elected on Sunday, Wadagni is expected to be able to count on the loyalty of the army, which played a decisive role in repelling an attempted coup against Talon in December.
