Editing History of Benin (section)

=== 2000s ===
During the 2001 elections, however, alleged irregularities and dubious practices led to a boycott of the run-off poll by the main opposition candidates. The four top-ranking contenders following the first round presidential elections were Mathieu Kérékou (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore Soglo (former president) 27.1%, [[Adrien Houngbédji]] (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and [[Bruno Amoussou]] (Minister of State) 8.6%. The second round balloting, originally scheduled for March 18, 2001, was postponed for days because both Soglo and Houngbedji withdrew, alleging electoral fraud. This left Kérékou to run against his own Minister of State, Amoussou, in what was termed a "friendly match."<ref name=bn/>

In December 2002, Benin held its first municipal elections since before the institution of Marxism-Leninism. The process was smooth with the significant exception of the 12th district council for Cotonou, the contest that would ultimately determine who would be selected for the mayoralty of the capital city. That vote was marred by irregularities, and the electoral commission was forced to repeat that single election. Nicephore Soglo's [[Benin Rebirth Party|Renaissance du Benin]] (RB) party won the new vote, paving the way for the former president to be elected Mayor of Cotonou by the new city council in February 2002.<ref name=bn/>

National Assembly 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 proceedings or the results. These elections resulted in a loss of seats by RB—the primary opposition party. The other opposition parties, the [[Democratic Renewal Party (Benin)|Party for Democratic Renewal]] (PRD) led by the former Prime Minister Adrien Houngbedji and the Alliance Etoile (AE), joined the government coalition.<ref name=bn/>

Former [[West African Development Bank]] Director [[Yayi Boni]] won the March 2006 [[2006 Beninese presidential election|election]] for the presidency in a field of 26 candidates.<ref>{{cite news |title=Boni wins Benin presidential election: official |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-03-23/boni-wins-benin-presidential-election-official/825650 |work=ABC News |date=22 March 2006 |language=en-AU}}</ref> International observers including the [[United Nations]], [[Economic Community of West African States]] (ECOWAS), and others called the election free, fair, and transparent. President Kérékou was barred from running under the 1990 constitution due to term and age limitations.<ref>{{cite news |title=President Mathieu Kerekou leaves after 29 years |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/fr/node/225956 |work=The New Humanitarian |date=7 April 2006 |language=fr}}</ref> President Yayi was inaugurated on April 6, 2006.<ref name=bn/><ref>{{cite news |title=Benin: Celebration As Boni Takes Over |url=https://allafrica.com/stories/200604070127.html}}</ref>

Benin held legislative elections on March 31, 2007, for the 83 seats in the National Assembly. The Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin (FCBE), a coalition of parties, closely linked to President Yayi, won a plurality of the seats in the National Assembly, providing the president with considerable influence over the legislative agenda.<ref name=bn/>