HISTORY
Benin was the seat of one
of the great medieval African kingdoms called Dahomey. Europeans
began arriving in the area in the 18th century, as the kingdom
of Dahomey was expanding its territory. The Portuguese, the French,
and the Dutch established trading posts along the coast (Porto-Novo,
Ouidah, Cotonou), and traded weapons for slaves. Slave trade ended
in 1848. Then, the French signed treaties with Kings of Abomey
(Guézo, Toffa, Glèlè) to establish French
protectorates in the main cities and ports. However, King Behanzin
fought the French influence which cost him deportation to Martinique.
As of 1900, the territory became a French colony ruled by a French
Governor. Expansion continued to the North (kingdoms of Parakou,
Nikki, Kandi), up to the border with former Upper Volta. On December
4, 1958, it became the République du Dahomey, self-governing
within the French community, and on August 1, 1960, the Republic
of Benin gained full independence from France.
Post-Independence
Politics
Between 1960 and 1972, a succession of military coups brought
about many changes of government. The last of these brought to
power Major Mathieu Kérékou as the head of a regime
professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles. The Revolutionary
Party of the People of Benin (PRPB) remained in complete power
until the beginning of the 1990s. Kérékou, encouraged
by France and other democratic powers, convened a national conference
that introduced a new democratic constitution and held presidential
and legislative elections. Kérékou's principal opponent
at the presidential poll, and the ultimate victor, was Prime Minister
Nicéphore Soglo. Supporters of Soglo also secured a majority
in the National Assembly.
Benin was thus the first African
country to effect successfully the transition from dictatorship
to a pluralistic political system. In the second round of National
Assembly elections held in March 1995, Soglo's political vehicle,
the Parti de la Renaissance du Benin, was the largest single party
but lacked an overall majority. The success of a party formed
by supporters of ex-president Kérékou, who had officially
retired from active politics, encouraged him to stand successfully
at both the 1996 and 2001 presidential elections.
During the 2001 elections,
however, alleged irregularities and dubious practices led to a
boycott of the run-off poll by the main opposition candidates.
The four top-ranking contenders following the first round presidential
elections were Mathieu Kerekou (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore Soglo
(former president) 27.1%, Adrien Houngbedji (National Assembly
Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno Amoussou (Minister of State) 8.6%. The
second round balloting, originally scheduled for March 18, 2001,
was postponed for days because both Soglo and Houngbedji withdrew,
alleging electoral fraud. This left Kerekou to run against his
own Minister of State, Amoussou, in what was termed a "friendly
match."
In December 2002, Benin held
its first municipal elections since before the institution of
Marxism-Leninism. The process was smooth with the significant
exception of the 12th district council for Cotonou, the contest
that would ultimately determine who would be selected for the
mayoralty of the capital city. That vote was marred by irregularities,
and the electoral commission was forced to repeat that single
election. Nicephore Soglo's Renaisance du Benin (RB) party won
the new vote, paving the way for the former president to be elected
Mayor of Cotonou by the new city council in February 2002.
National Assembly elections took place in March 2003 and were generally considered to be free and fair. Although there were some irregularities, these were not significant and did not greatly disrupt the proceedings or the results. These elections resulted in a loss of seats by RB--the primary opposition party. The other opposition parties, the Party for Democratic Renewal (PRD) led by the former Prime Minister Adrien Houngbedji and the Alliance Etoile (AE), joined the government coalition.
Former West African Development Bank Director Boni Yayi won the March 2006 election for the presidency in a field of 26 candidates. International observers including the United Nations, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and others called the election free, fair, and transparent. President Kérékou was barred from running under the 1990 constitution due to term and age limits. President Yayi was inaugurated on April 6, 2006.
Benin held legislative elections on March 31, 2007 for the 83 seats in the National Assembly. The "Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin" (FCBE) party, closely linked to President Yayi, won a plurality of the seats in the National Assembly, providing the president with considerable influence over the legislative agenda.
