President questions Benin vote process
COTONOU, Benin -- Benin's outgoing president alleged a lack of transparency in elections held yesterday to determine who will succeed him after nearly three decades as head of this tiny West African nation.
The 15-nation Economic Community of West African states, however, praised the government for organizing the ballot and said Benin ''has become a model for democracy."
President Mathieu Kerekou said he was surprised at the alleged disappearance of 1.3 million of the country's 5.3 million printed voter cards.
''Based on what we've learned and seen, the elections that we wished to be transparent will indeed not be," Kerekou said. The ex-coup leader gave no details in the comments broadcast on state radio.
An electoral commission spokesman said last week that the 5.3 million cards had been sent to local authorities nationwide.
Four million of the country's 7 million people registered to vote.
The extra cards were supposed to be returned to a central location but were not. The electoral commission's chief denied afterward that the cards were missing. He said they were being held safely with local authorities.
Twenty-six candidates are seeking the nation's top job in a wide-open race set to usher in a new era. The impoverished nation's two top political figures, 73-year-old Kerekou and 72-year-old opposition leader Nicephore Soglo, were barred from running by the constitution, which excludes candidates older than 70.
''We're going to have change," said university student Carolle Assankpon. ''We're going to have a new chief."
Voters lined up at polling stations yesterday at schools and under trees, stamping ballot papers and dropping them into transparent plastic ballot boxes.
Some polling stations stayed open more than an hour late because materials or electoral workers were delayed. Electoral officials say results could be released within several days.
The victor must win at least 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff. If there is no clear winner, the runoff would take place 15 days after final results from the first round are announced.
Among the front-runners were Adrien Houngbedji, a former prime minister; Bruno Amoussou, a former national assembly president; Yayi Boni, former head of the West African Development Bank; and Soglo's son, Lehadi.
Candidates have promised to improve governance, reduce unemployment, and boost cotton production, the country's main export, but raising the standard of living will not be easy. The United Nations ranks Benin near the bottom of its quality-of-life index -- 161st out of 177 nations. Only 40 percent of its adults are literate. 