Democracy News

Benin President’s Win Confirmed; Opposition Candidate Challenges Results
March 30, 2011
By: Chinyelu Odunze | Printer Friendly

Benin’s Constitutional Council declared incumbent President Boni Yayi as the winner of the country’s March 13 presidential election, amid outcry from opposition candidate Adrien Houngbedji. The twice postponed election was originally scheduled for February 27, and then postponed to March 6. The election would have been postponed for a third time, if the candidates’ request for adequate preparation by the electoral commission had been granted.

The Council said Yayi won 53 percent of the vote in the first round, while his closest rival, Houngbedji, only received 36 percent.  The results indicate that Yayi has secured a first round victory, meaning that there will not be a second round run-off.

Despite the Council’s official results, Houngbedji alleges the result is fraudulent and said he plans to contest it through the court and public protest. According to Radio France International, he repudiated the outcome as “null and void” and of no consequence. Houngbedji is now calling on the people of Benin to put up a fight against what he terms “the systematic violation of democracy” in the country.

Houngbedji said he is the winner of the election and has called on his partners and other political forces to join him and make their voices heard. Houngbediji’s rejection of the results is in contrast to his reaction in 2006, when he accepted defeat in the second round of the presidential election.

According to AllAfrica.com, Marcel de Souza, a spokesman for the incumbent president, criticized Houngbedji’s declaration of himself as the winner as “ridiculous” and irresponsible.  However, de Souza acknowledged Houngbedji’s right to contest the results but insisted he had to do this though the right channels and to produce evidence backing his claim. According to the Bloomberg News, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also shares this sentiment, but ECOWAS maintains that the voting was “peaceful, fair and transparent.”

Bloomberg News reports that Robert Dossou, head of the Constitutional Court said that opposition candidates had five days to contest the results and the court made its final declaration on March 30. According to AFP, as of March 30, Benin's constitutional court rejected opposition appeals over the results of the vote and declared Yayi re-elected. Yayi is to be sworn in on April 6.

According to the Voice of America, Yayi has been in power since 2006, where he won in a landslide victory. More recently, Yayi’s popularity has suffered a major blow after being linked to a major financial scandal where more than 100,000 people lost their life savings.

Sources:
AFP – Benin Presidential Challenger Refuses to Accept Defeat

AllAfrica.com - Yayi Boni Wins Another Five- Year Term

BBC News - Benin Delays Presidential Election for the Second Time

BBC News - Benin President Boni Yayi's victory confirmed

Bloomberg - Benin Opposition Leader Houngbedji Claims Presidency as Tensions Increase

Voice of America - Benin Opens Presidential Elections