Beninese presidential election, 2016

Last updated
Beninese presidential election, 2016
Flag of Benin.svg
←  2011 6 March 2016 (first round)
20 March 2016 (second round)

  Patrice Talon 2016-04-06.jpg Lionel Zinsou.jpg
Nominee Patrice Talon Lionel Zinsou
Party Independent FCBE
Popular vote 2,030,941 1,076,061
Percentage 65.37% 34.63%
President before election

Yayi Boni
FCBE

Elected President

Patrice Talon
Independent

Benin
Coat of arms of Benin.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Benin
Foreign relations

Presidential elections were held in Benin on 6 March 2016, having been delayed by one week due to logistical constraints. [1] 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. [2] A second round was held on 20 March, [3] in which businessman Patrice Talon defeated Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou.

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.

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.

Patrice Talon Beninese president

Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon is a Beninese businessman and politician who has been President of Benin since 6 April 2016.

Contents

Background

During 2015 and 2016 the leaders of some African countries undertook efforts to remain in power after decades of rule; a referendum in Rwanda resulted in Paul Kagame being allowed to remain in power, there was unrest in Burundi over President Pierre Nkurunziza's plans to run for a third term, whilst the long-term presidents of Uganda and the Republic of the Congo ran for office again. However, in West Africa, the long-term president of Burkina Faso was removed from office and Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan left office after losing an election. [4]

Paul Kagame Rwandan politician

Paul Kagame is a Rwandan politician and former military leader. He is currently the President of Rwanda, having taken office in 2000 when his predecessor, Pasteur Bizimungu, resigned. Kagame previously commanded the rebel force that ended the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He was considered Rwanda's de facto leader when he served as Vice President and Minister of Defence from 1994 to 2000. He was re-elected in August 2017 with an official result of nearly 99% in an election criticized for numerous irregularities. He has been described as the "most impressive" and "among the most repressive" African leaders.

Burundian unrest (2015–present)

On 25 April 2015, the ruling political party in Burundi, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), announced that the incumbent President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, would run for a third term in the 2015 presidential election. The announcement sparked protests by those opposed to Nkurunziza seeking a third term in office.

The body charged with producing the new voter cards failed to live up to their deadlines of distributing cards. [5] This caused the Constitutional Court to first delay the elections by a week, and then make the ruling that old voter cards issued prior to the 2011 elections would also be accepted as the court feared that voters might be disenfranchised. [6]

Campaign

Campaigning was only permitted for a 15-day period directly before the elections. The Constitutional Court sanctioned a campaign period from 19 February to 4 March 2016. [7]

Candidates

The Résoatao Party selected its candidate via party primaries held on 7 November 2015; its leader and sole MP Mohamed Atao Hinnouho was chosen with 141 votes, with the president of the party's women's branch Eliane Saizonou receiving 14 votes and the party's first councillor Félix Tohoyessou eight. [8]

Résoatao Party

The Résoatao Party is a political party in Benin.

Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou announced on 1 December 2015 that he would stand as the candidate of the Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin, the party of President Yayi Boni, in the 2016 presidential election. He said that he would focus on financing agriculture and helping informal workers obtain formal employment. [9] Zinsou's French background attracted some criticism. At a meeting of a grouping of Zinsou's opponents held on 5 January 2016, a trade union leader denounced Zinsou as "a colonizer" who was "parachuted in ... to safeguard the economic crimes of Boni Yayi". The government defended Zinsou, stressing that he was "a full citizen of Benin" and that arguing that his opponents were appealing to "base instincts of hatred, racism, fear and intolerance." [10]

Lionel Zinsou French investment banker, economist and private banker

Lionel Zinsou is a French–Beninese economist and investment banker who was Prime Minister of Benin from 2015 to 2016. Since June 2017, he has been the president of Terra Nova, a centre-left French think tank.

The Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin is a political party of Benin, formed by supporters of president Yayi Boni. In the parliamentary election held on 31 March 2007, the party won 35 out of 83 seats. The party expanded its plurality to 41 seats in the 2011 election that followed the contested reelection of Yayi Boni as president.

The Democratic Renewal Party, a major opposition party led by Adrien Houngbédji, announced on 30 January 2016 that it would support Lionel Zinsou. [11] Independent candidates included the businessmen Patrice Talon and Sebastien Adjavon.

The Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA) announced on 13 January 2016 that 48 people had filed the necessary paperwork to stand as presidential candidates, although their candidacies still needed to be approved by the Constitutional Court. [12] Each candidate had to submit health certificates that prove a clean bill of health and deposit a filing fee of an equivalent $25,000. The court cleared 36 candidates and dropped 11 candidates for not providing sufficient evidence for various standard requirements. Three further candidates dropped from the race prior to the allocated campaigning period. [6]

Results

Provisional results released on 8 March 2016 showed Lionel Zinsou placing first with 28.4% of the vote. Patrice Talon placed second with 24.8% and Sebastien Ajavon placed third with 23.03%. Zinsou was therefore expected to face Talon in a second round of voting. [13]

For the second round, Talon received the support of 24 out of 32 of the defeated first round candidates. Most notably, he received the backing of Ajavon. The second round was held on 20 March 2016. Saying that the results "point to a decisive victory for Patrice Talon", Zinsou quickly conceded defeat and congratulated Talon. [14]

The Constitutional Court validated the results on 25 March. [15]

CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Lionel Zinsou Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin 858,08028.431,076,06134.63
Patrice Talon Independent746,52824.732,030,94165.37
Sébastien AjavonIndependent693,08422.96
Abdoulaye Bio-Tchané Alliance for a Triumphant Benin 262,3898.69
Pascal Koupaki New Consciousness Rally177,2515.87
Robert GbianGenerations for Republican Governance46,6341.54
Fernand AmoussouAlliance of Forces of the Future35,3901.17
Issa Salifou Union for Relief 30,8551.02
Aké NatondePath of Benin26,5010.88
Nassirou Bako Arifari Amana Alliance 19,0120.63
Mohamed Atao Hinnouho Résoatao Party 12,4410.41
Saliou Youssao Aboudou12,2150.40
Bertin KooviIroko Alliance11,2920.37
Richard Senou8,1230.27
Karimou Chabi SikaIndependent7,3510.24
Zul-Kifl SalamiNational Party of Congress6,7820.22
Elisabeth AgbossagaUnion for Development and Reform5,8020.19
Issifou Kogui N'douroIndependent5,1300.17
Zacharie Cyriaque Goudali6 May Movement4,9980.17
Kamarou FassassiIndependent4,8200.16
Gabriel Ayivi Adjavon4,3710.14
Marcel de SouzaRepublican Front of Benin4,2470.14
Azizou El-Hadj IssaIndependent4,1430.14
Omer Rustique Guezo3,9990.13
Jean-Alexandre HountondjiNew March3,8930.13
Daniel EdahMovement for Prosperity and Solidarity3,6940.12
Marie-Elise Gbèdo 3,5970.12
Christian Enock Lagnide3,3910.11
Issa Badarou Soule3,3800.11
Simon Pierre AdovelandeIndependent2,8580.09
Moudjaidou Soumanou Issoufou2,6480.09
Gatien Houngbedji Union for Economic and Social Development2,2870.08
Kessile Tchala Sare1,2720.04
Invalid/blank votes116,530–31,622–
Total3,134,9881003,138,624100
Registered voters/turnout4,746,34866.054,746,34866.13
Source: Constitutional Court (first round, second round)

Aftermath

Speaking on the same day that the Constitutional Court confirmed the results, Talon said that he would "first and foremost tackle constitutional reform", discussing his plan to limit presidents to a single term of five years in order to combat "complacency". He also said that he planned to slash the size of the government from 28 to 16 members. [15] He was sworn in on 6 April 2016, [16] and the composition of his government was announced later in the day. There was no prime minister, and two defeated presidential candidates who had backed Talon in the second round, Pascal Koupaki and Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane, were appointed to key posts: Koupaki as Secretary-General of the Presidency and Bio-Tchane as Minister of State for Planning and Development. [17]

Related Research Articles

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.

Émile Derlin Zinsou Beninese politician

Émile Derlin Zinsou was a Beninese politician and physician who was the President of Dahomey from 17 July 1968 until 10 December 1969, supported by the military regime that took power in 1967. Zinsou was present at the signing of the treaty that formed the African Union on 12 July 2000 in Togo.

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).

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.

The African Movement for Development and Progress is a political party in Benin. In the legislative elections held on 30 March 2003, the party was part of the Presidential Movement, the alliance of supporters of President Mathieu Kérékou, who had won the 2001 presidential election, and won nine out of 83 seats. The President of MADEP is Séfou Fagbohoun, a wealthy businessman.

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.

2006 Beninese presidential election

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.

Kamarou Fassassi was a Beninese politician.

Sacca Lafia is a Beninese politician who has served in the government of Benin as Minister of the Interior since 2016. Previously he was Minister of Mines, Energy, and Water under President Yayi Boni, beginning in 2007. He is President of the Union for Democracy and National Solidarity (UDS), a political party.

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.

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.

2016 national electoral calendar

This national electoral calendar for the year 2016 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.

G13 Baobab Alliance political party in Benin

The G13 Baobab Alliance is a political alliance in Benin.

2016 Equatorial Guinean presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Equatorial Guinea on 24 April 2016. In a vote initially scheduled for November but brought forward by seven months, incumbent President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo retained his office with 93.7 percent of the vote.

Abdoulaye Bio Tchané Beninese economist

Abdoulaye Bio Tchané is a Beninese economist and politician.

2019 Beninese parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Benin on 28 April 2019.

References

  1. ↑ "Bénin: présidentielle reportée au 6 mars" (in French). BBC. 2016-02-12.
  2. ↑ "Benin's campaign trail gets busier ahead of polls". africanews.channel. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  3. ↑ "Record 33 Candidates Vying for Benin Presidency". VOA. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  4. ↑ Motorcycle Riders at Forefront of Benin's Election Campaign Bloomberg News, 3 March 2016
  5. ↑ "Benin delays in voter cards distribution ahead of February 28 polls". africanews.channel. Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  6. 1 2 Nyamekye, Kwamena. "Benin: Presidential election campaign begins - Graphic Online". www.graphic.com.gh. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  7. ↑ "Benin's presidential election campaign to start Friday". 18 February 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Elections primaires du Parti RésoAtao", Actu Benin
  9. ↑ "Benin PM Zinsou confirms to run for president in 2016 polls", Reuters, 2 December 2015.
  10. ↑ Allegresse Sasse, "Benin politicians attack president's favored successor", Reuters, 5 January 2016.
  11. ↑ Allegresse Sasse, "Benin prime minister gets opposition support for presidential election", Reuters, 30 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Record 48 candidates seek Benin presidency", Agence France-Presse, 13 January 2016.
  13. ↑ "Benin PM Zinsou faces run-off in presidential election", Reuters, 8 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "PM Zinsou concedes defeat to Talon in Benin president vote", Agence France-Presse, 20 March 2016.
  15. 1 2 "Newly-elected Benin president aims to reduce presidential terms", Reuters, 26 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "Businessman sworn in as Benin's president", Reuters, 6 April 2016.
  17. ↑ Vincent Duhem, "Bénin : Patrice Talon nomme un gouvernement sans Premier ministre", Jeune Afrique, 6 April 2016 (in French).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.