Elections for the National Revolutionary Assembly

National Assembly of Benin

The unicameral National Assembly of Benin is the country's legislative body.The current National Assembly has 83 members who are directly elected through a system of party-list proportional representation and serve five-year terms.-See also:...

were held in Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

 on 10 June 1984. They were originally scheduled for 1983, but the term of the Assembly was extended by 18 months. At the time, the country was a one-party state under the People's Revolutionary Party of Benin

People's Revolutionary Party of Benin

The People's Revolutionary Party of Benin was a political party in the People's Republic of Benin. It was founded in 1975 by General Mathieu Kérékou. With the new constitution of November 30, 1975, PRPB became the sole legal party in the country...

, with voters given the choice of approving the party's list of 196 candidates (reduced from 336) or not. The list was ultimately approved by 98.2% of voters, with a 93.1% turnout. Following the election, Mathieu Kérékou

Mathieu Kérékou

Mathieu Kérékou, was President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 17 years, for most of that time under an officially Marxist-Leninist ideology, before he was stripped of his powers by the National Conference of...

was elected President (unopposed) by the Assembly on 31 July.

Results

Choice	Votes	%
Approve	1,811,808	98.2
Not approve	27,720	1.9
Abstain	6,397	0.3
Invalid or blank	5,119
Total	1,851,044	100
Source: Nohlen et al

Assembly members

Rather than geographical constituencies, seats were given to 22 professions. The largest number of seats (78) were held by "Peasants and craftsmen from rural areas". Also represented were mass organizations, the party (31 seats), civil servants (divided into six categories), the army (divided into privates, non-commissioned officers and officers ), workers, religious bodies, students, retired people, magistrates and the "national bourgeoisie". Assembly members, known as "People's Commissioners", also had their terms extended from three to five years.