Benin
Benin’s newly elected president, Patrice Talon, will be sworn into office on Wednesday, almost two weeks after the country’s Constitutional Court validated his victory in the March presidential run-off.
Talon won the runoff with 65.39 percent of the votes to beat Prime Minister Lionel Zinzou who quickly accepted defeat.
#Benin: Patrice Talon elected as President with 65.39% of votes
— africanews (@africanews) March 21, 2016
Talon, who is a cotton business magnate, was backed by a number of opposition candidates in the west African country’s second round poll on March 20.
He will take over from Thomas Boni Yayi who steps down after completing his constitutional two terms.
Benin’s peaceful election has been hailed by many observers who have saluted the maturity of the West African country’s democracy.
The country is gearing up for the colourful swearing-in ceremony expected to be attended by a number of African leaders.
#Vote229 #PortoNovo is almost ready for the official ceremony to inaugurate the new President of #Benin, Mr #Talon pic.twitter.com/d5XWRPCpFe
— BeninVote 2016 (@Vote_229) April 5, 2016
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