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 ...
on 5 March 2006. Long-term president
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 ...
, who had led the country for all but four years since 1972, was barred from running for a third term. The constitution not only stipulated an absolute two-term limit, but required presidents to be 70 years old or younger when taking office; Kérékou had turned 70 in 2003. In July 2005, Kérékou 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
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, ...
was also barred from standing due to his age.
With the men who had been among the country's leading political figures since the return of democracy barred from running, the campaign had a level of openness and unpredictability not common for African presidential elections. Since no candidate won a majority, a second round was held between the two leading candidates on 19 March;
Yayi Boni Yayi may refer to
* China-Taiwan Yayi Cup, a Go competition
*Thomas Boni Yayi
Thomas Boni Yayi (born 1 July 1951) is a Beninese banker and politician who was President of Benin from 2006 to 2016. He took office after winning the March 2006 presi ...
won the election and took office in April.
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 franc
The CFA franc (french: franc CFA, , Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, or colloquially ; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight Wes ...
s 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
Zul Kifl Salami is a politician from Benin. He was a minister in the PRPB government. He holds a doctorate in economics.
He was elected as an Islamic Development Bank Executive Director in 2003 on a three-year term, with responsibility for: Alg ...
,
Antoine Dayori
Antoine Dayori is a Beninese politician and the leader of the Hope Force (''Force Espoir'') political party.
Dayori was one of five Force Clé candidates elected to the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicame ...
, and
Kamarou Fassassi
Kamarou Fassassi (October 10, 1948 – December 4, 2016) was a Beninese politician..
Fassassi was born in Porto-Novo. He was Director of the Cabinet of the President of the National Assembly of Benin, Adrien Houngbédji, from 1992 to 1995, . Additionally, the Constitutional Court approved the candidacies of two heads of major institutions: those of
Antoine Idji Kolawolé
Antoine Idji Kolawolé (born 1946) is a Beninese politician. He was the minister of foreign affairs of Benin from 1998 to 2003 and the President of the National Assembly from 2003 to 2007.
Political career
Kolawolé was born in 1946 in Illikimo ...
, the President of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
, and
Raphiou Toukourou, the President of the Economic and Social Council.
Results
In the first round, held on 5 March, Boni, former chairman of the
West African Development Bank
The West African Development Bank - WADB (fr. Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement - BOAD / pt. Banco de Desenvolvimento do Oeste Africano - BDOA) is an international Multilateral Development Bank established in 1973 to serve the nations of Fr ...
, placed first with around 35% of the vote, and former President of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
Adrien Houngbédji
Adrien Houngbédji (born 5 March 1942) is a Beninese politician and the leader of the Democratic Renewal Party (''Parti du renouveau démocratique'', PRD), one of Benin's main political parties. He was President of the National Assembly of Benin ...
of the
Democratic Renewal Party placed second with around 24% of the vote. In third place was the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
's candidate
Bruno Amoussou
Bruno Ange-Marie Amoussou (born 2 July 1939) is a Beninese politician who was President of the National Assembly of Benin from 1995 to 1999https://assemblee-nationale.bj/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Histoire-et-patrimoine.pdf and Minister of Stat ...
, 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.
[Elections in Benin](_blank)
African Elections Database
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. He won the second round with almost 75% of the vote
and was sworn in on 6 April.
[Virgile Ahissou]
Celebrations in Benin as Boni takes office
Associated Press, 7 April 2006
References
External links
USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
Commission Electoral Nationale Autonome
{{Beninese elections
Presidential elections in Benin
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 ...
Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
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 ...