EXECUTIVE SUMMARY __________________________________________________________________________ of civil servants. In 1989, a new agreement signed with the IMF regarding a macroeconomic stabilisation and Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) provoked a massive general strike among civil servants and students who were demanding payment of salaries and grants. 2.4 The social and political unrest led President Mathieu Kérékou to renounce the Marxist-Leninist ideology and accept to convene a National and Sovereign Conference of the Bone and Sinew of the Nation, the first of its kind in Africa. Convened in Cotonou in February 1990, this conference put the organs of transition in place: a president of the republic, a prime minister as head of government, and a High Council of the Republic (HCR) – serving as both Legislative Assembly and Constitutional Court. Finally, a Constitutional Commission was set up, the aim of which was to draft a new fundamental law – the constitution – which was to be approved by referendum on 2 December 1990. 2.2 Period of democratic renewal 2.5 Following the National Sovereign Conference, a transitional government was put in place in 1990, which paved the way for a return to democracy and a multiparty political system. In the presidential election of March 1991, the prime minister, Nicéphore Soglo, beat President Kérékou. Nevertheless, the structural adjustment and public expenditure restrictions recommended by the IMF, coupled with the deepening economic crisis in the wake of the devaluation of the Central African CFA franc in 1994, revived the discontent. After having lost his majority within the Legislative Assembly, President Soglo was beaten by Mathieu Kérékou in the presidential election of 17 March 1996. Five years later, in March 2001, Kérékou was re-elected as president of the republic. In 2006, the fourth presidential election since the advent of democracy and the multiparty system in 1990 was won – in the second round and by a large margin (74.52% of the votes cast) – by Dr Thomas Boni Yayi. 2.6 On the political front, the National Sovereign Conference held in February 1990 (see point 2.4 above) saw Benin turning to a multiparty democracy based on the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedom. Gradual political transformation enabled the country to consolidate its democratic foundations. As a result, the electoral process has been maintained since the elections in 1991, thereby favouring the changeover of political power and wide participation of the population in electing those in power in presidential, legislative and local elections. Today, Benin is often cited as a model for democracy in Africa. 2.7 In economic terms, Benin recorded satisfactory macroeconomic results during the course of the 1990s, with an annual growth rate in the region of 5% and a controlled rate of inflation. However, since 2001, the pillars of the Beninese economy have shown signs of weakness, leading to a slowing of economic activity between 2003 and 2005. The real growth rate of the economy kept declining, reaching 3.4% in 2004 compared to 3.9% in 2003 and 2.9% in 2005. At this rate, with a population growing at 3.1%, poverty reduction could 4