Beninese parliamentary election, 1984

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Elections for the National Revolutionary Assembly were held in Benin on 10 June 1984. They were originally scheduled for 1983, but the term of the Assembly was extended by 18 months. [1] At the time, the country was a one-party state under the People's Revolutionary Party of Benin, with voters given the choice of approving the party's list of 196 candidates (reduced from 336) or not. The list was ultimately approved by 98.2% of voters, with a 93.1% turnout. [2] Following the election, Mathieu Kérékou was elected President (unopposed) by the Assembly on 31 July. [3]

Benin country in Africa

Benin, officially the Republic of Benin and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. The majority of its population lives on the small southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometres (44,310 sq mi) and its population in 2016 was estimated to be approximately 10.87 million. Benin is a tropical nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming.

A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of state in which one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties are either outlawed or allowed to take only a limited and controlled participation in elections. Sometimes the term de facto one-party state is used to describe a dominant-party system that, unlike the one-party state, allows democratic multiparty elections, but the existing practices or balance of political power effectively prevent the opposition from winning the elections.

Peoples Revolutionary Party of Benin political party in Benin

The People's Revolutionary Party of Benin was a political party in the People's Republic of Benin. It was founded in 1975 by General Mathieu Kérékou. With the new constitution of November 30, 1975, PRPB became the sole legal party in the country. Ideologically, the party was committed to Marxism-Leninism.

Contents

Results

ChoiceVotes%
Approve1,811,80898.2
Not approve27,7201.9
Abstain6,3970.3
Invalid or blank5,119
Total1,851,044100
Registered voters/turnout1,987,17393.1
Source: Nohlen et al.

Assembly members

Rather than geographical constituencies, seats were given to 22 professions. The largest number of seats (78) were held by "Peasants and craftsmen from rural areas". Also represented were mass organizations, the party (31 seats), civil servants (divided into six categories), the army (divided into privates, non-commissioned officers and officers ), workers, religious bodies, students, retired people, magistrates and the "national bourgeoisie". [1] Assembly members, known as "People's Commissioners", also had their terms extended from three to five years.

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References

  1. 1 2 Benin Inter-Parliamentary Union
  2. Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p90 ISBN   0-19-829645-2
  3. Elections in Benin African Elections Database