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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
The unicameral National Assembly is Benin's legislative body.
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.
Mathurin Coffi Nago is a Beninese politician who was President of the National Assembly of Benin from 2007 to 2015. Previously he was Minister of Higher Education and Vocational Training from 2006 to 2007.
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.
Pascal Irénée Koupaki is a Beninese politician who served as Prime Minister of Benin from May 2011 to August 2013. Koupaki worked as an official at the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and he was Director of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister from 1996 to 1998. Under President Yayi Boni, Koupaki was Minister of Finance from 2006 to 2007 and then Minister of State for the Exploration, Development, and Evaluation of Public Policy from 2007 to 2011.
Union Makes the Nation is an alliance of opposition political parties in Benin. It is composed of the PRD, MADEP, PSD, RB, Key Force, MDS, UNDP, MARCHE, PDPS and RDL VIVOTEN, and therefore represents an expansion of the Alliance for a Democratic Dynamic to embrace most of the significant Beninese parties opposed to the government of President Yayi Boni. The Union contested the 2011 presidential and parliamentary elections. Their presidential candidate, Adrien Houngbédji, was credited with 35.7% of the vote; he issued a statement rejecting the validity of the election results. In the parliamentary elections, the Union took 30 seats out of 83 to become by far the largest opposition party.
Parliamentary elections were held in Benin on 26 April 2015.
Presidential elections were held in Benin on 6 March 2016, having been delayed by one week due to logistical constraints. Incumbent President Thomas Boni Yayi was at the end of his second presidential term and was constitutionally barred from running for a third. The elections grabbed the interest of many of the country's top businessmen, resulting in over 30 candidates running for the presidency. A second round was held on 20 March, in which businessman Patrice Talon defeated Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou.
Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon is a Beninese businessman and politician who has been President of Benin since 6 April 2016.
