By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Vote counting for the first round of Benin’s presidential election has started following the closure of polling stations, in Cotonou, the country’s economic capital and across the country.
According to the electoral code, all polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) and closed at 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Sunday, after which the counting process started automatically.
“The general trends of this election will be announced within 48 hours after the closure of polling stations,” president of the Autonomous National Electoral Commission, Sacca Lafia, the body responsible for organizing elections in Benin stated.
Nearly 7.9 million registered voters cast their ballots in the first round of the presidential election to choose a successor to President Patrice Talon, whose term will expire on May 23.
Two major candidates, the Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni Paul Hounkpe of the opposition party Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin tested their popularity at the election.
Political watchers have predicted victory for the finance minister who has based his camp on tripling the national budget and posting cotton-exporting Benin’s highest GDP growth rates in more than two decades.
