COTONOU: Benin goes to the polls on Sunday to choose a new president, with a record number of candidates standing, including two of the country's most influential businessmen.
The election was initially due to be held on February 28 but the first round was postponed because of delays in the production and distribution of the 4.7 million voters' cards.
Thirty-three candidates are standing for election, including Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou, a Franco-Beninese former financier who is seen as current President Thomas Boni Yayi's preferred successor.
Boni Yayi is stepping down after a maximum two terms.
Two opposition parties have already backed Zinsou but with some 15 former colleagues of Boni Yayi also in the running, no clear-cut winner may emerge in the first round.
Political analyst Simon Asoba described the contest as "the most surprising ever" because it "defies all political logic and every electoral habit since 1990", when multi-party politics began.
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