Beninese presidential election, 2006

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Members of the National Autonomous Electoral Commission (CENA) are counting the votes after the second round on 19 March 2006 Beninese presidential election 2006 - pollstation.jpg
Members of the National Autonomous Electoral Commission (CENA) are counting the votes after the second round on 19 March 2006
Civil Society members offer their own transportation means to carry and safeguard the transparent ballot boxes from the polling stations to the electoral commission offices. Beninese presidential election 2006 - vote transport.jpg
Civil Society members offer their own transportation means to carry and safeguard the transparent ballot boxes from the polling stations to the electoral commission offices.

Presidential elections were held in Benin on 5 March 2006. Long-time president Mathieu Kérékou was barred from running again by a two-term limit and an age limit of 70 years for candidates; in July 2005 he signalled that he would not seek to change the constitution, as has been done in some other African countries, so that he could run again. Kérékou's long-time rival Nicéphore Soglo was also barred from standing due to his age. [1] With both of the men who had been the country's leading political figures for many years unable to contest the election, it had a level of openness and unpredictability that is uncommon to African presidential elections. Since no candidate won a majority, a second round was held between the two leading candidates on 19 March; Yayi Boni won the election and took office in April.

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.

Mathieu Kérékou politician

Mathieu Kérékou was a Beninese politician who served as President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 19 years, for most of that time under an officially Marxist–Leninist ideology, before he was stripped of his powers by the National Conference of 1990. He was defeated in the 1991 presidential election but was returned to the presidency in the 1996 election and controversially re-elected in 2001.

Nicéphore Soglo Prime Minister of Benin

Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo is a Beninese politician who was Prime Minister of Benin from 1990 to 1991 and President from 1991 to 1996. He was Mayor of Cotonou from 2003 to 2015. Soglo is married to Rosine Vieyra Soglo, the Beninois former First Lady and politician.

Contents

Candidates

A total of 33 candidate applications were registered with the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA). In a ruling issued on 30 January 2006, the Constitutional Court accepted 26 candidacies, as the candidacies of Daniel Shalom, Vincent Emmanuel Ahounou, and Adébayo Ananie were rejected because they were deemed medically unfit for the presidency, while the candidacies of Lary Egoundoukpè and Alidou Tamama were rejected because they had not paid the deposit of five million CFA francs required of candidates. Another two candidates, Edgar Alias and Yaro Sourakatou, withdrew in favor of Boni prior to the ruling. The approved candidates included three serving members of Kérékou's government: Zul Kifl Salami, Antoine Dayori, and Kamarou Fassassi. Additionally, the Constitutional Court approved the candidacies of two heads of major institutions: those of Antoine Idji Kolawolé, the President of the National Assembly, and Raphiou Toukourou, the President of the Economic and Social Council. [2]

CFA franc two African currencies

The CFA franc is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries. Both currencies are guaranteed by the French treasury. Although separate, the two CFA franc currencies have always been at parity and are effectively interchangeable. The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc.

Zul Kifl Salami is a politician from Benin. He was a minister in the PRPB government. He holds a doctorate in economics.

Antoine Dayori is a Beninese politician and the leader of the Hope Force political party.

Results

In the first round, held on 5 March, Boni, former chairman of the West African Development Bank, placed first with around 35% of the vote, and former President of the National Assembly Adrien Houngbédji of the Democratic Renewal Party placed second with around 24% of the vote. In third place was the Social Democratic Party's candidate Bruno Amoussou, a former speaker of parliament and planning minister who obtained around 16% of the vote, and in fourth place was Benin Renaissance candidate Lehady Soglo, son of former president Nicéphore Soglo, with around 8% of the vote. Boni was an independent candidate, and this was his first election; Houngbédji and Amoussou had both run for president three previous times. [3] [4]

West African Development Bank organization

The West African Development Bank - WADB is an international Multilateral Development Bank established in 1973 to serve the nations of Francophone and Lusophone West Africa. The BOAD is organised by the Central Bank of West African States and its eight member governments: Benin, Burkina-Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. It is funded by member states, foreign governments and international agencies. Its headquarters are in Lomé, Togo.

Adrien Houngbédji is a Beninese politician and the leader of the Democratic Renewal Party, one of Benin's main political parties. He was President of the National Assembly of Benin from 1991 to 1995, Prime Minister of Benin from 1996 to 1998, and President of the National Assembly again from 1999 to 2003. Beginning in 1991, he stood repeatedly as a presidential candidate; he placed second in 2006, but was heavily defeated by Yayi Boni in a second round of voting. Since 2015, he has served for a third time as President of the National Assembly.

The Democratic Renewal Party is a political party of Benin led by Adrien Houngbédji. Houngbédji lived in exile for several years, but returned to Benin to take part in the National Conference of 1990. He built up his party largely around other exiled Beninese. PRD was legally recognized on September 24, 1990.

Shortly after results were announced in mid-March, the government set the date for the second round between Boni and Houngbédji for 19 March. The country's election commission asked for more time, but this was refused. Boni was backed for the second round by both Amoussou and Soglo. [5] He won the second round with almost 75% of the vote [3] and was sworn in on 6 April. [6]

CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Yayi Boni Independent1,074,30835.781,979,30574.60
Adrien Houngbédji Democratic Renewal Party 727,23924.22673,93725.40
Bruno Amoussou Social Democratic Party 489,12216.29
Léhadi Soglo Benin Rebirth Party 253,4788.44
Antoine Kolawolé Idji African Movement for Development and Progress 97,5953.25
Lazare Sèhouéto Movement for the People's Alternative 61,1952.04
Sévérin Adjovi Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction – Vivoten 53,3041.78
Antoine Dayori Hope Force 37,4361.25
Kamarou Fassassi Awakening Party of Democrats of the New Generation29,4940.98
Janvier YahouédéhouIndependent23,0540.77
Luc Gnacadja Envol Movement20,2690.68
Daniel Tawéma Action Front for Renewal and Development 18,1250.60
Ibrahima Idrissou Rally for National Unity and Democracy 18,1060.60
Richard SènouIndependent15,6720.52
Soulé Dankoro Democratic Party 9,9290.33
Marie-Elise Gbèdo Independent9,8150.33
Célestine ZanouIndependent9,4740.32
Lionel Agbo African Congress of Democrats9,0260.30
Zul Kifl Salami Independent8,5380.28
Richard AdjahoIndependent7,4480.25
Gatien Houngbédji Democratic Union for Economic and Social Development6,5440.22
Adolphe Djimon HodonouIndependent6,5120.22
Galiou Soglo Independent5,2430.17
Léandre DjagouéRally of Liberal Democrats – Hêviosso4,6650.15
Marcel GbaguidiIndependent3,4790.12
Raphiou ToukourouIndependent3,4190.11
Invalid/blank votes186,77769,564
Total3,189,2661002,722,806100
Registered voters/turnout3,917,86581.73,919,55069.5
Source: African Elections Database

Related Research Articles

The Republic of Benin was formed in 1960 when the colony of French Dahomey gained independence from France. Prior to this, the area that is now the Republic of Benin was divided largely between two coastal kingdoms, Dahomey and Porto-Novo, and a large area of various tribes in the north. The French assembled these various groups together into the colony of French Dahomey, which was part of the various colonies of French West Africa from 1904 until 1960. In the independence era, the republic was extremely unstable for the first decade and a half of existence, with multiple governments and multiple military coups. In 1972, Mathieu Kérékou led a military coup deposing the Presidential Council and appointing himself as the head of state, a position he held until 1991 when the country returned to multiparty elections. Since that point, the state has held multiple presidential and legislative elections and a number of different parties have become important.

Politics of Benin

The Politics of Benin take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, wherein the President of Benin is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the legislature. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The current political system is derived from the 1990 Constitution of Benin and the subsequent transition to democracy in 1991. The Economist Intelligence Unit has rated Benin as "hybrid regime" in 2016.

Elections in Benin

Elections in Benin take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. Both the President and the National Assembly are directly elected by voters, with elections organised by the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA).

Bruno Ange-Marie Amoussou is a Beninese politician who was President of the National Assembly of Benin from 1995 to 1999 and Minister of State for Planning and Prospective Development under President Mathieu Kérékou from 1999 to 2005. He is currently a Deputy in the National Assembly. As the long-time leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Amoussou stood as a presidential candidate in 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2006.

The Benin Rebirth Party is an oppositional, more or less liberal party in Benin. The party is led by Nicéphore Soglo, who was President of Benin from 1991 to 1996 and later Mayor of Cotonou.

The Social Democratic Party is a political party in Benin.

Rosine Vieyra Soglo is a Beninese politician. She is a member of the National Assembly of Benin and has also served as a member of the Pan-African Parliament. Soglo is married to Nicéphore Soglo, who was President of Benin from 1991 to 1996.

Thomas Boni Yayi Beninese politician and President of Benin

Thomas Boni Yayi is a Beninese banker and politician who was President of Benin from 2006 to 2016. He took office after winning the March 2006 presidential election and was re-elected to a second term in March 2011. He also served as the Chairperson of the African Union from 29 January 2012 to 27 January 2013.

2001 Beninese presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Benin on 4 March 2001, with a second round run-off on 18 March. They controversially resulted in the re-election of Mathieu Kérékou for a second term. Kérékou's rival Nicéphore Soglo, who had been president from 1991 to 1996, failed in his bid to reclaim the presidency; although he qualified to participate in the second round of the election against Kérékou, he refused to do so, alleging electoral fraud. Adrien Houngbédji, the parliament speaker and third-placed candidate, also refused to participate in a second round. As a result, Kérékou faced fourth-place candidate Bruno Amoussou, who was planning minister and had already given his support to Kérékou, in the second round; Kérékou won an easy victory with 84% of the vote.

Gatien Houngbédji is a Beninese politician and the president of the Union for Economic and Social Development (UDES). Under President Mathieu Kérékou, he was Minister of Trade, Craft Industry, and Tourism from April 1996 to May 1998. He unsuccessfully ran for the office of President of Benin as the candidate of UDES in the March 1991 presidential election, in which he received 0.89% of the vote. He also ran as the UDES candidate in the March 2001 presidential election, in which he received 0.33% of the vote. In January 2006, he was again designated as the UDES candidate for the March 2006 presidential election; in this election he received 0.22% of the vote.

Ganiou Soglo is a Beninese politician of the Benin Rebirth Party (RB) who served in the government for a time as Minister of Culture, Literacy, and the Promotion of National Languages. He is the son of former President Nicéphore Soglo and brother of Léhady Soglo.

The Alliance for a Democratic Dynamic is an opposition alliance of Benin which contested the Beninese parliamentary election of 2007.

1991 Beninese presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Benin in March 1991, the first direct presidential elections since 1970. Elections under the military regime of Mathieu Kérékou had been indirect, with the president chosen by the National Assembly.

1996 Beninese presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Benin in March 1996. The first round, held on 3 March, saw no candidate gain over 50% of the vote, resulting in a second round held on 18 March. Mathieu Kérékou, a former military dictator who had come second in the first round, was victorious in the second round, beating incumbent Nicéphore Soglo, after gaining the backing of the third- and fourth-placed candidates. Kérékou received very strong support from northern voters, but he also improved his performance in the south compared to the 1991 election.

2011 Beninese presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Benin on 13 March 2011 after being postponed twice from 27 February and 6 March 2011. Incumbent President Yayi Boni ran for re-election against thirteen other candidates, including former National Assembly head and political veteran Adrien Houngbédji and Abdoulaye Bio-Tchané, president of the West African Development Bank. He won 53.18% of the vote, enough to win a second term without a run-off. It is the first time since the restoration of democracy in Benin that a candidate has won the presidency in a single round. A second round run-off would have been held on 27 March 2011 if it had been necessary.

2011 Beninese parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Benin on 30 April 2011, after being delayed from 17 April 2011. Turnout was reportedly low. The election saw a six-seat increase for the Cauri Forces for an Emerging Benin, composed of allies of the president Yayi Boni, which took nearly half the parliamentary seats. The election consolidated Boni's victory in the 2011 presidential elections the previous month; Adrien Houngbédji, the second-placed candidate, had rejected the validity of the presidential election results.

References

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world, and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance—the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms.