1996 Beninese presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Benin in March 1996. The first round, held on 3 March, saw no candidate gain over 50% of the vote, resulting in a second round held on 18 March. Mathieu Kérékou, a former military dictator who had come second in the first round, was victorious in the second round, beating incumbent Nicéphore Soglo, after gaining the backing of the third- and fourth-placed candidates.[1] Kérékou received very strong support from northern voters,[2] but he also improved his performance in the south compared to the 1991 election.[1]

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Soglo alleged fraud, but this was rejected by the Constitutional Court (who had annulled 22% of the votes in the first round),[3] which confirmed Kérékou's victory.[4] Voter turnout was 87.8% in the first round and 77.6% in the second round.[3]

Results
CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Nicéphore SogloBenin Rebirth Party596,37135.69904,62647.51
Mathieu KérékouIndependent567,08433.94999,45352.49
Adrien HoungbédjiDemocratic Renewal Party329,36419.71
Bruno AmoussouSocial Democratic Party129,7317.76
Pascal FontondjiCommunist Party of Benin17,9771.08
Lionel AgboIndependent15,4180.92
Léandre DjagouéIndependent15,0790.90
Total1,671,024100.001,904,079100.00
Valid votes1,671,02475.551,904,07997.20
Invalid/blank votes540,65324.4554,7762.80
Total votes2,211,677100.001,958,855100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,517,97087.842,524,26277.60
Source: Nohlen et al.

References
  1. Kunle Amuwo, "The State and the Politics of Democratic Consolidation in Benin, 1990–1999", in Political Liberalization and Democratization in Africa (2003), ed. Ihonvbere and Mbaku.
  2. World News Briefs; Benin Presidential Vote Heads for a Runoff The New York Times, 6 March 1996
  3. Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p95 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
  4. Benin, Year in Review: 1996 Britannica
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