Yearbook 2011
Benin. Benin’s reputation as a regional democratic example in West Africa got a thorn after chaotic preparations for the 2011 general election. The presidential election, which should have been held on February 27, had to be postponed first a week, then another week, after complaints that hundreds of thousands of voters had not been registered. Even when the election was over, major organizational problems were reported in many polling stations. Visit ABBREVIATIONFINDER for the acronym of BEN that stands for the country of Benin.
According to Countryaah official site, the Election Commission’s announcement that incumbent President Boni Yayi had won 53% of the vote already in the first round was met with demonstrations and appeals, but the Constitutional Court ruled the outcome, giving Yayi a second term in six years. The parliamentary elections in April strengthened the president’s position. Parties supporting Yayi received 53 seats and the opposition 30. During the previous term, the opposition had a majority in the House.
After the re-election, Yayi fulfilled a promise to hand over the day-to-day responsibility of leading the government’s work to a reinstated post as prime minister. He gave the assignment to his closest husband, Pascal Koupaki, who in practice had already done this work for several years.
In September, warships from Benin and Nigeria began joint patrol in the Gulf of Guinea with the intention of stealing piracy. The waters outside Benin started by insurance companies to be classified as dangerous as those outside Somalia. By September 19, 19 pirate attacks had been reported from the area during the year.