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Benin

COUNTRY	ELECTION TYPE	DATE
Republic of Benin	Presidential	March 4, 2001 (Round One) March 22, 2001 (Round Two)

At stake in this election:

Description of government structure:

Description of electoral system:

The president is directly elected by popular vote for a five-year term.
All members of the National Assembly are elected by a system of proportional representation in multi-member constituencies.

Results of the presidential election:

Presidential Candidate: Mathieu KEREKOU
Party: Independent Candidate
Second Round Valid Votes Received: 1,282,855
Second Round Percentage of Valid Votes: 83.64%
First Round Valid Votes Received: 1,054,920
First Round Percentage of Valid Votes: 47.09%
Presidential Candidate: Bruni AMOUSSOU
Party: The Social Democratic Party
Second Round Valid Votes Received: 250,940
Second Round Percentage of Valid Votes: 16.36%
First Round Valid Votes Received: 89,811
First Round Percentage of Valid Votes: 4.01%
Presidential Candidate: Nicephore SOGLO
Party: Benin Renaissance Party (PRB)
First Round Valid Votes Received: 648,749
First Round Percentage of Valid Votes: 28.96%
Withdrew from Second Round
Presidential Candidate: Adrieu HOUNGBEDJI
Party: Democratic Revival Party
First Round Valid Votes Received: 301,979
First Round Percentage of Valid Votes: 13.48%
Withdrew from Second Round

When was the last election? Number of seats in last election?

Presidential elections last held: March 18, 1996
Mathieu KEREKOU received 52.49% of the vote, thereby defeating Nicephore SOGLO who received 47.51%.

Population and number of registered voters:

Of Interest:

Since no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the first round election, a run-off election was held between the top two candidates on March 18, 2001.
The candidate who placed second in the first round, Nicephore SOGLO, withdrew from contesting the second round election claiming voting irregularities in the first round election. The third place candidate, Adrieu HOUNGBEDJI, also refused to participate in the election for similar reasons. The second round election was postponed from March 18, 2001 until March 22, 2001 as a result of the Nicephore SOGLO's last minute withdrawal from the race.
Citizens of Benin living abroad were eligible to vote in these election. An estimated one million nationals abroad voted in the 1991 presidential election, but had been unable to vote since then for logistical reasons.

SOURCE: INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ELECTION SYSTEMS (IFES)