Jonathan’s legacy adopted in Benin Republic by Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister of Benin Republic, Lionel Zinsou, who contested the 2016 Benin Republic presidential election has on Monday, March 21, conceded defeat to his opponent a business mogul, Patrice Talon.
President Boni Yayi, had earlier appointed Zinsou after the new 28-member government, including 17 new ministers were sworn in.
Zinsou, served as an adviser to Yayi and was a managing partner at French bank, Rothschild and Cie after which he later joined Paris-based private equity
firm, PAI partners in 2008.

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Talon who is a business mogul was reported to have won the second round of Benin’s presidential election, while his opponent, the incumbent Prime Minister acknowledged defeat, prior to the release of official results.

While conceding, Zinsou said, “I called Patrice tonight to congratulate him on his victory and wish him good luck,” he said in a Facebook post before the final election results were announced.

“I am going to speak in front of the press to thank my constituents after the announcement by CENA (Commission Electorale Nationale Autonome/ Benin, the country’s electoral commission).”

Zinsou, a former economist and investment banker, was backed by the outgoing President Thomas Boni Yayi and the main opposition Democratic Renewal Party, in an early front-runner after winning the first round of voting of which he scored 27.1 percent of the vote, compared to 23.5 percent for Talon.

Zinsou, unable to out rightly secure majority of the votes across board in the first round of voting on March 6, 2016 conceded defeat after early results gave Talon 64.8 percent of the votes cast, as against 35.2 for Zinsou in the second run off. The incoming was a staunch supporter of Yayi before falling out of favor.

Talon, a 57-year-old entrepreneur acquired his wealth through cotton and running Cotonou’s port, and had severally billed himself as the authentic Beninese candidate and repeatedly attacked his opponent’s dual French nationality and repeatedly called him a “yovo” or “the white man” during campaigns.

However, Zinsou’s concession to defeat has been likened to that of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria who conceded defeat to President Muhammadu Buhari, before the official announcement of the 2015 presidential election result.