Bruno Amoussou, 8.6 percent. The second-round bal- loting, originally scheduled for March 18, 2001, was postponed for days because both Soglo and Houngbedji withdrew, alleging fraud; this left Kérékou running against his own minister, Amoussou. Kérékou won the second-round election on March 22, 2001, and is the current president.
LEGISLATURE
The democratic constitution of 1991 provides for one unicameral 83-seat National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), elected every four years. Each member of parliament (MP) represents approximately 70,000 inhabitants, and his or her position is renewable. The vacancy of the speakership is filled by a successor elected within 15 days when the Assembly is in full session or at an immediate meeting held in compli- ance with the rules of procedure. The vacancy of an MP is filled by his or her substitute, elected in the same manner.
The Economic and Social Council (ESC) exists to advise on bills submitted to the legislature. Bills for programs of an economic and social character are obligatorily referred to it. The president may consult the ESC on all economic, social, cultural, scientific, and technical issues. The ESC can, on its own initia- tive, in the form of recommendation, call the atten- tion of the National Assembly and the government to economic and social reforms that it deems appropri- ate to or in discordance with the general interest. The ESC elects its president and board from the MPs. The
composition, organization, and functioning of the ESC are specified by an act of parliament.
The current National Assembly is controlled by a coalition of parties loyal to Kérékou and opposed to former president Soglo. Elections took place in March 2003 and were generally considered to be free and fair. Although there were some irregularities, these were not significant and did not greatly disrupt the proceed- ings or the results. These elections resulted in a loss of seats by a pro-Soglo coalition led by the Party for the Rebirth of Benin (PRB), the primary opposition party. The other opposition parties, the Party for Democratic Renewal (PRD; led by the former minister Adrien Houngbédji) and the Alliance Étoile (AE), joined the government coalition.
JUDICIARY
The constitution provides for a Supreme Court (Cour Supréme), a Constitutional Court, and a High Court of Justice. The civil and criminal judicial system is based roughly on French civil law and customary law.
The Supreme Court is the highest jurisdiction of the state with respect to administrative, judicial matters, and government audits. It also has jurisdic- tion regarding contentious local elections. There is no recourse against its decisions, which constrain the executive, the legislative, and all lower jurisdictions. The government consults on all administrative and jurisdictional issues. It can, at the request of the execu- tive, be in charge of the formulation and modification of all legislative and regulatory texts, prior to their
review by the National Assembly. The president of the republic appoints the president of the court for a five- year term, after requesting the advice of the National Assembly; the president of the court is chosen from among magistrates and high-level jurists with a mini- mum of fifteen years’ experience. Such appointment is made by decree taken during the Council of Ministers. The president of the court cannot be removed from office during the five-year term, which is renewable only once. The office is incompatible with a position in any ministry or in elected, civilian, or military office.
The Constitutional Court is composed of the following:
1. Three magistrates with a minimum of 15 years’ experience, among whom two are appointed by the board of the National Assembly and one by the president of the republic
2. Two high-level jurists, professors, or practitioners of law, with a minimum of fi fteen years’ experience, among whom one is appointed by the board of the National Assembly and the other by the president of the republic
3. Two personalities with high professional reputation, among whom one is appointed by the board of the National Assembly and the other by the president of the republic
These magistrates cannot be removed from office during their mandate.
The High Court of Justice is composed of the mem- bers of the Constitutional Court, except that body’s president, as well as six MPs elected by the National Assembly and the president of the Supreme Court. The court elects a president from among its members and has the jurisdiction to judge the president of the republic and the members of the government for deeds qualified as high treason or infringements committed in the exercise of their functions, and to judge their accomplices in case of plots against the country’s national security.
REGIONAL AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
Benin is divided into 12 administrative regions: Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, and Zou. There are direct local and regional elections every four years. The capital, Porto Novo, and the largest city, Cotonou, are mayoralties.
In December 2002 Benin held its first democratic municipal elections since the collapse of Marxism-
Leninism. The process was smooth with the significant exception of Cotonou’s district 12, the contest that would ultimately determine who would be selected mayor of the capital. That vote was marred by irregularities, and the electoral commission was forced to repeat that single election. Soglo’s PRB party won the new vote, paving the way for the former president of Benin to be elected mayor of Cotonou by the new city council in February 2003.
The Electoral System
Suffrage extends to all citizens 18 years and over. The election of the president requires an absolute majority, and the constitution provides for a second, runoff elec- tion if necessary. The election for the National Assem- bly takes place over two consecutive months and is based on proportional representation. The constitution provides for an independent National Electoral Com- mission to govern and administer freedom and fairness in voter enrollment and election procedures.
The Party System
The multiparty constitution provides for freedom of political organization on every level of Benin society. Since the scrapping of the Marxist-Leninist system, dozens of parties have organized and registered. All of the more than 100 active political parties as of 2004 had a broadly democratic party structure, with the exception of the Communist Party of Benin (PCB), which had a traditional Communist power structure. There is no state financing of political parties, and there are no restrictions on campaign fund-raising.