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 north ...

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 scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

. Elections under the military regime of Mathieu Kérékou 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 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 Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

, 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