Independence: 1 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: National Day, 1 August (1990)
Constitution: December 1990
Legal system: based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 18 March 1996 (next to be held NA March 2001) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU elected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 52.49%, Nicephore SOGLO 47.51%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 28 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEPO 6, Alliance Etoile 4, Alliance IPD 4, CAR-DUNYA 3, MERCI 2, other 7
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle,
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme, High Court of Justice
Political parties and leaders: African Movement for Democracy and
Progress or MADEP ; Alliance for Democracy and
Progress or ADP ; Alliance of the Social
Democratic Party or PSD and the National Union for Solidarity and
Progress or UNSP ; Benin Renaissance Party or PRB
; Cameleon Alliance or AC ; Car-DUNYA
; Communist Party of Benin or PCB [Pascal FANTONDJI, first
secretary]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD ; Front
for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA; Impulse for Progress and
Democracy or IPD ; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National
Reconstruction-Vivoten or RDL-Vivoten ; Movement for
Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI ; New
Generation for the Republic or NG ; Our Common Cause or NCC
; Rally for Democracy and Pan-Africanism or
RDP ; The Star
Alliance (Alliance E'toile) ; Union for National Democracy
and Solidarity or UDS
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA,
ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO
(subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO