Presidential elections were held in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

in March 1991, the first direct presidential elections since

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

. Elections under the military regime of

Mathieu Kérékou Mathieu Kérékou (; 2 September 1933 – 14 October 2015) 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 ...

had been indirect, with the president chosen by the National Assembly. The first round, held on 10 March, saw no candidate receive more than 37% of the vote. Prime Minister

Nicéphore Soglo Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo (born November 29, 1934) 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 was married to Rosine Vieyra Soglo, ...

led the field, with Kérékou in second place. The second round on 24 March resulted in a decisive victory for Soglo, with almost two-thirds of the vote to Kérékou's 32.5 percent. Voter turnout was 56.3% in the first round and 64.1% in the second. Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) ''Elections in Africa: A data handbook'', p94 The elections marked the first instance in post-colonial Francophone Africa that an opposition candidate won a free election.

Results

References

{{Beninese elections Presidential elections in Benin

1991 in Benin