Presidential elections were held in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

on 13 March 2011 after being postponed twice from 27 February and 6 March 2011. Incumbent President

Yayi Boni Yayi may refer to * China-Taiwan Yayi Cup, a Go competition *Thomas Boni Yayi Thomas Boni Yayi (born 1 July 1951) is a Beninese banker and politician who was President of Benin from 2006 to 2016. He took office after winning the March 2006 presi ...

ran for re-election against thirteen other candidates, including former

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

head and political veteran

Adrien Houngbédji Adrien Houngbédji (born 5 March 1942) is a Beninese politician and the leader of the Democratic Renewal Party (''Parti du renouveau démocratique'', PRD), one of Benin's main political parties. He was President of the National Assembly of Benin ...

and Abdoulaye Bio-Tchané, president of the

West African Development Bank The West African Development Bank - WADB (fr. Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement - BOAD / pt. Banco de Desenvolvimento do Oeste Africano - BDOA) is an international Multilateral Development Bank established in 1973 to serve the nations of F ...

. He won 53.18% of the vote, enough to win a second term without a run-off. It is the first time since the restoration of democracy in Benin that a candidate has won the presidency in a single round. A second round run-off would have been held on 27 March 2011 if it had been necessary.

Candidates

Adrien Houngbédji

, leader of the Democratic Renewal Party and runner-up to Boni in 2006, pledged to increase employment in the country's agriculture sector by investing 14 billion

CFA francs The CFA franc (french: franc CFA, , Franc of the Financial Community of Africa, originally Franc of the French Colonies in Africa, or colloquially ; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the name of two currencies, the West African CFA franc, used in eight Wes ...

($28 million) in buying tractors and other heavy equipment for Beninese farmers. He also pledged to create an agricultural bank and lower the national income tax.Benin Opposition Candidate Pledges to Focus Policy on Farming
''Bloomberg'', 13 January 2011

Results

Protests

A series of protests and rioting hit the nation after growing opposition amid street protests against the results and popular protests eventually persuaded throughout the country. Countrywide opposition protests were held amid shootings and strikes in Cotonou and other cities. 1 was killed in the clashes and protests eventually dwindled.

References

{{Beninese elections Presidential elections in Benin

Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...