CCTV9英语新闻：PM Lionel Zinsou facing Patrice Talon in run-off

Vote counting is underway in Benin. Prime Minister Lionel Zin-sou is facing businessman, Patrice Talon, in the run-off. Zinsou garnered 28 percent of the vote on March 6, slightly more than Talon.

 

Zinsou is a former investment banker and member of the country's ruling party, Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin or F-C-B-E. Talon is a businessman who made millions of dollars importing fertilizer for the cotton industry. He went into self-imposed exile in France after having been accused of conspiring to poison President Thomas Boni Ya-yi, a charge he denied. These allegations were dismissed in 2014. President Yayi promised to step down this year at the end of his second term, prompting 33 candidates to run to replace him. The large number of candidates split the vote in the first round, preventing anyone from winning a majority.