| Benin |
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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]
Soglo alleged fraud, but this was rejected by the Constitutional Court (who had annnulled 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 77.1% in the second round.[3]
| Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| Nicéphore Soglo | Renaissance Party of Benin | 596,371 | 35.69 | 904,626 | 47.51 |
| Mathieu Kérékou | Independent | 567,084 | 33.94 | 999,453 | 52.49 |
| Adrien Houngbédji | Democratic Renewal Party | 329,364 | 19.71 | ||
| Bruno Amoussou | Social Democratic Party | 129,731 | 7.76 | ||
| Pascal Fontondji | Communist Party of Benin | 17,977 | 1.08 | ||
| Lionel Agbo | Independent | 15,418 | 0.92 | ||
| Léandre Djagoué | Indepdendent | 15,079 | 0.90 | ||
| Invalid votes | 540,653 | - | 54,776 | - | |
| Total | 2,211,677 | 100 | 1,958,855 | 100 | |
| Source: Nohlen et al | |||||
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