1970 Dahomeyan presidential election

Election of Justin Ahomadégbé Dahomey 9–28 March 1970 1991 Beninese presidential election 130x130px 1991 56.69% 997,226 Justin Ahomadégbé 008080 200,092 36.57% Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin, 1964 (cropped).jpg Sourou Migan Apithy in 1958.jpg Sourou-Migan Apithy FF9900 176,828 32.32% Hubert Maga 152,551 27.88% Hubert Maga (cropped) on September 24th, 1961.jpg 005500 File:Map of the 1970 Dahomeyan presidential election.svg 200px President Paul-Émile de Souza Election annulled Presidential elections were held in Dahomey from 9 March to 28 March 1970."Violence Cited in Suspending Dahomey Voting 'Temporarily'", Agence France-Presse report, in The Courier-Journal (Louisville KY), 30 March 1970 Voting took place "in one province at a time" in Dahomey's six departments. However, on 28 March, the ruling military council suspended further voting because of violence between supporters of the three main candidates. At the time the voting was halted, Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin of Dahomey's had received a plurality of the vote, but disagreements between factions in other parts of the country led to the results being annulled.Benin: History The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia The compromise announced by the military junta on 1 May was to appoint the three leading candidates – former Presidents Sourou-Migan Apithy and Hubert Maga, and former Prime Minister Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin – to a three-man Presidential Council to rule the country, rotating the presidency every two years, effectively declaring all three men as the election winners."Dahomey Initiates Rotating Presidency", Philadelphia Inquirer, 2 May 1970, p4Benin: Timeline BBC News Maga served the first two-year term, before handing over to Ahomadégbé in 1972, who was then removed from office by a coup led by Mathieu Kérékou later in the year. Voter turnout in the election was 56.7%.Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p93 0-19-829645-2 Legislative elections to elect an assembly of 42 deputies are also organized from March 11 to 31 as provided for by the ordinance of February 9, 1970.Nicéphore Soglo, Vers le « miracle béninois », l’épreuve du pouvoir et de la démocratie, L’Harmattan, 1.2025, page 75 They were also canceled before the results were announced. Background On 10 December 1969 President Émile Derlin Zinsou was overthrown by Maurice Kouandété, who had installed him as president in 1968. However, the military refused to recognise Kouandété.Kneib 2007 21 As the two men could not reach agreement, a Military Directorate was established with Paul-Émile de Souza as its chairman.Hudgens Trillo Calonnec 2003 893. Elections were organised to determine the true president. Campaign The three candidates were allowed to campaign, and they did not miss the chance. Intimidation and bribery were commonplace, and the electoral campaign saw the return of regional loyalties.Decalo 1973 454. It was also marked by a series of violent outbursts; invalidated reports state that six people were killed or wounded at incidents in Parakou on the eve of the elections. Fellow candidate Zinsou asserted that Maga supporters had killed one of his supporters during said incidents.https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1970/03/27/76724145.pdf Slayings Reported and Regional Tension Rises as Dahomey Votes for President Agence France-Presse 27 March 1970 The New York Times 6 2008-12-14 . Results The accusations made against him did not affect Maga's standing in the polls; he received a majority of the vote in the north, and Apithy and Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin received a majority in the southeast and southwest/central, respectively. The election results showed a victory for Maga with 252,551 votes, 200,091 for Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin, and 186,332 for Apithy.Ronen 1975 216. In the entire south, Maga received 24,000 votes compared to the 180,000 who voted for him in the Borgou Department, obtaining 97.3 percent of the 78 percent turnout.Decalo 1973 470. Zinsou, running to counter the constant tribal clashes, received 3 percent,Decalo 1973 455. with 17,551 votes. Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin 200092 Sourou-Migan Apithy 176828 Hubert Maga 152551 Emile Derlin Zinsou 17653 18223 997226 Nohlen et al. Aftermath Following the election, de Souza decided to nullify the results from Atakora, the region where Maga received the most votes, on 3 April.Dossou-Yovo 1999 62. Outraged, Maga formed the Assembly of the Peoples of the North, which threatened to secede unless he was declared President.Decalo 1973 85. He refused to leave his campaign headquarters at Parakou even to attend political meetings. Maga's reaction to the nullification prompted many southern workers to flee the north. Apithy stated that he would convince his region to join Nigeria if Maga took the presidency and took steps to bribe his way into that office. Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin claimed Maga had defrauded the electoral system to his advantage. In contrast with the other three former presidents, Zinsou admitted that he had been defeated and decided participate in bargaining,Decalo 1973 471. explaining that he rejected the idea of a coalition "for personal reasons".Ronen 1975 219. The other former Presidents, on the other hand, agreed to a hasty compromise on 13 April to prevent a civil war. References Bibliography Decalo Samuel April 1973 Regionalism, Politics, and the Military in Dahomey The Journal of Developing Areas College of Business, Tennessee State University 7 3 449–478 4190033. Dossou-Yovo Noel Noel Dossou-Yovo September 1999 2010-09-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20100916195512/http://www.questia.com:80/read/5001834798?title=The%20Experience%20of%20Benin The Experience of Benin International Journal on World Peace 16 3 https://www.questia.com/read/5001834798?title=The%20Experience%20of%20Benin 0742-3640 Questia subscription 211426384. Hudgens Jim Trillo Richard Calonnec Nathalie The Rough Guide to West Africa Rough Guides London 2003 1-84353-118-6 176832097 registration https://archive.org/details/roughguidetowest0000hudg. Kneib Martha Benin Cultures of the World Marshall Cavendish Tarrytown, New York 2007 978-0-7614-2328-7 62109915 registration https://archive.org/details/benin0000knei. Ronen Dov Dahomey: Between Tradition and Modernity Cornell University Press Ithaca, New York 1975 0-8014-0927-6 1527290. Dahomey Presidential Category:Presidential elections in Benin Category:Annulled elections