Dahomeyan constitutional referendum, 1964
Encyclopedia
A constitutional referendum was held in Dahomey
(now Benin
) on 5 January 1964. The main issues were changing the system of government to a presidential system
, scrapping term limits for the president, and having a unicameral parliament
. The referendum passed with 99.86% of voters approving the changes. Turnout was 92.1% of the 1,051,614 registered voters.
Dahomey
Dahomey was a country in west Africa in what is now the Republic of Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state that was founded in the seventeenth century and survived until 1894. From 1894 until 1960 Dahomey was a part of French West Africa. The independent Republic of Dahomey...
(now 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 5 January 1964. The main issues were changing the system of government to a presidential system
Presidential system
A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....
, scrapping term limits for the president, and having a unicameral parliament
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
. The referendum passed with 99.86% of voters approving the changes. Turnout was 92.1% of the 1,051,614 registered voters.
Results
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 966,292 | 99.8 |
| No | 1,318 | 0.2 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 619 | |
| Total | 968,229 | 100 |
| Source: Nohlen et al. | ||