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Benin: The electoral calendar

By on January 12, 2011
Under the Constitution of Benin, a period of sixty days is required between convening the electorate body and holding the first round of the presidential election. The name of the future head of state should be known before April 6, the end of Boni Yayi’s mandate.

The outgoing President has decided that the first round of the presidential elections will be held on February 27 and the second round two weeks later. This consultation will be followed by the legislative elections, April 17, ending the possibility of a coupling of the two elections desired by a majority of the members of Benin parliament (MPs). Lessons have been learned and President Boni Yayi’s advisers have said that the experience of 2008 has caused too much confusion to be repeated. However, the opposition has denounced that the President Boni Yayi, who has no majority in the National Assembly, hopes to reverse the trend by placing the legislatives after the dynamics of the presidential election. Officially not yet declared as a candidate, Boni Yayi, in all likelihood, will run for a second term. But it will be very difficult for him to realise his previous score. It will be tough for the head of state, a close adviser has acknowledged, because of the following two tenor and heavyweight opponents: Adrien Houngbedji who will realize a plebiscite in the South and Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane who is back in Benin after a long assignment at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD).

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