2001 Beninese presidential election|
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Presidential elections were held in Benin on 4 March 2001, with a second round run-off on 18 March. They controversially resulted in the re-election of Mathieu Kérékou for a second term. Kérékou's rival Nicéphore Soglo, who had been president from 1991 to 1996, failed in his bid to reclaim the presidency; although he qualified to participate in the second round of the election against Kérékou, he refused to do so, alleging electoral fraud. Adrien Houngbédji, the parliament speaker and third-placed candidate, also refused to participate in a second round. As a result, Kérékou faced fourth-place candidate Bruno Amoussou, who was planning minister and had already given his support to Kérékou, in the second round; Kérékou won an easy victory with 84% of the vote.
After the election, it was revealed that the Titan Corporation, a defense contractor based in the United States, had illegally provided $2 million to Kérékou's re-election campaign. The company pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $28.5 million in fines and civil penalties, the largest penalty under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act up to that point, for bribery and filing false tax returns.
Results
| Candidate | Party | First round | Second round |
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| Votes | % | Votes | % |
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| Mathieu Kérékou | Action Front for Renewal and Development | 1,127,100 | 45.42 | 1,282,855 | 83.64 |
| Nicéphore Soglo | Benin Rebirth Party | 672,927 | 27.12 | |
| Adrien Houngbédji | Democratic Renewal Party | 313,186 | 12.62 | |
| Bruno Amoussou | Social Democratic Party | 213,136 | 8.59 | 250,940 | 16.36 |
| Sacca Lafia | Union for Democracy and National Solidarity | 29,656 | 1.20 | |
| François-Xavier Loko | Independent | 16,656 | 0.67 | |
| Soulé Dankoro | Democratic Party | 15,614 | 0.63 | |
| Adébayo Abimbola | National Rally for Democracy | 15,251 | 0.61 | |
| Wallis Zoumarou | National Union for Solidarity and Progress | 13,576 | 0.55 | |
| Rhétice Dagba | Independent | 12,697 | 0.51 | |
| Marie-Elise Gbèdo | Independent | 8,952 | 0.36 | |
| Léandre Djagoué | Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction – Vivoten | 8,565 | 0.35 | |
| Lionel Agbo | African Congress of Democrats | 8,226 | 0.33 | |
| Gatien Houngbédji | Democratic Union for Social and Economic Development | 8,092 | 0.33 | |
| Olofindji Akandé | Independent | 6,258 | 0.25 | |
| Sadikou Alao | National Alliance for a Democratic Alternative | 6,223 | 0.25 | |
| François Kouyami | Independent | 5,414 | 0.22 | |
| Total | 2,481,529 | 100.00 | 1,533,795 | 100.00 |
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| Valid votes | 2,481,529 | 93.20 | 1,533,795 | 89.82 |
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| Invalid/blank votes | 181,066 | 6.80 | 173,809 | 10.18 |
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| Total votes | 2,662,595 | 100.00 | 1,707,604 | 100.00 |
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| Registered voters/turnout | 3,034,471 | 87.74 | 3,152,365 | 54.17 |
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| Source: African Elections Database |
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