Presidential elections were held in Dahomey

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 28 March 1970. Although they were won by Hubert Maga

Hubert Maga

Coutoucou Hubert Maga was a politician from Dahomey .Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. See . He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived...

, disagreements between northern and southern politicians meant that the results were later annulled, and instead a three-member Presidential Council was created to rule the country, rotating the presidency every two years. It was composed of Sourou-Migan Apithy

Sourou-Migan Apithy

Sourou-Migan Marcellin Joseph Apithy was a Beninese political figure most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived....

, Hubert Maga

Hubert Maga

Coutoucou Hubert Maga was a politician from Dahomey .Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. See . He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived...

 (both former Presidents) and Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin

Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin

Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin was a Beninese politician most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived...

 (a former Prime Minister), who had all received over 25% of the vote. Maga served the first two-year term, before handing over to Ahomadégbé in 1972, who was then removed from office by a coup led by 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...

 later in the year. Voter turnout in the election was 56.7%.

Background

On 10 December 1969 President Emile Derlin Zinsou

Emile Derlin Zinsou

Emile Derlin Zinsou is a Beninese political figure who was the President of Dahomey from 17 July 1968 until 10 December 1969, supported by the military regime that took power in 1967. Zinsou also served in the French senate from 1955 to 1958. He was previously Minister of Foreign Affairs from...

 was overthrown by Maurice Kouandété

Maurice Kouandété

Iropa Maurice Kouandété was a military officer and politician in Benin . He was born to Somba parents in the Gaba District of Dahomey. Kouandété enrolled in the army in his late teens. Over the years, he became popular among junior soldiers in the north and gained the contempt of those in the south...

, who had installed him as president in the first place. The military, however, refused to recognize Kouandété, and as the two men could not reach agreement, a Military Directorate was established with Paul Emile de Souza as its chairman. An election held to determine the true president. On this occasion, the triumvirate was allowed to campaign, and they did not miss the chance. Intimidation and bribery were commonplace, and the electoral campaign saw the comeback of regional loyalties. It was also marked by a series of violent outbursts; invalidated reports state that six people were killed or wounded at incidents in Parakou on the eve of the elections. Fellow candidate Zinsou asserted that Maga supporters had killed one of his supporters during said incidents.

These charges did not affect Maga's standing in the polls; he received a majority of the vote in the north, and Apithy and Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin received a majority in the southeast and southwest/central, respectively. The election results showed a victory for Maga with 252,551 votes, 200,091 for Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin, and 186,332 for Apithy. In the entire south, Maga received 24,000 votes compared to the 180,000 who voted for him in the Borgou Department

Borgou Department

Borgou is one of the twelve departments of Benin. Borgou borders the country of Nigeria and the departments of Alibori, Atakora, Collines and Donga. The capital of Borgou is Parakou and the total area is 25,310 km.² or 9,772 mi.²....

, obtaining 97.3 percent of the 78 percent turnout. Zinsou, running to counter the constant tribal clashes, received 3 percent, with 17,551 votes.

Aftermath

Following the election, de Souza decided to nullify the results from Atakora, the region where Maga received the most votes, on 3 April. Outraged, Maga formed the Assembly of the Peoples of the North, which threatened to secede unless he was declared President. He refused to leave his campaign headquarters at Parakou even to attend political meetings. Maga's reaction to the nullification prompted many southern workers to flee the north. Apithy stated that he would convince his region to join Nigeria if Maga took the presidency and took steps to bribe his way into that office. Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin claimed Maga had defrauded the electoral system to his advantage. In contrast with the other three former presidents, Zinsou admitted that he had been defeated and decided participate in bargaining, explaining that he rejected the idea of a coalition "for personal reasons". The other former Presidents, on the other hand, agreed to a hasty compromise on 13 April to prevent a civil war.

Final results

Candidate	Votes	%
Justin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin Justin Ahomadegbé-Tomêtin was a Beninese politician most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived...	200,092	|36.6
Sourou-Migan Apithy Sourou-Migan Apithy Sourou-Migan Marcellin Joseph Apithy was a Beninese political figure most active when his country was known as Dahomey. He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived....	176,828	|32.3
Hubert Maga Hubert Maga Coutoucou Hubert Maga was a politician from Dahomey .Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. See . He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived...	152,551	27.9
Emile Derlin Zinsou Emile Derlin Zinsou Emile Derlin Zinsou is a Beninese political figure who was the President of Dahomey from 17 July 1968 until 10 December 1969, supported by the military regime that took power in 1967. Zinsou also served in the French senate from 1955 to 1958. He was previously Minister of Foreign Affairs from...	17,653	3.2
Invalid/blank votes	18,223
Total	565,347	100
Source: Nohlen et al