CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE __________________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER THREE 3. DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE 3.1 Introduction: the challenges for democracy and political governance 96. The political history of independent Benin is characterised by three major periods. The first, from 1960 to 1972, was beset by political instability and successive coups d’état. The second, the so-called revolutionary period, lasted from 1972 to 1989. This was a more stable period, with the country becoming a one-party state under the autocratic rule of General Mathieu Kérékou. Political stability, however, did not lead to development or economic and social recovery for Benin. The third period, from 1990 to the present, is the period of democratic renewal. It began with the National and Sovereign Conference of the Bone and Sinew of the Nation. 97. Benin changed from a dictatorial one-party military regime into a multiparty democracy, an event which flowed from the National Sovereign Conference (which was spearheaded by lawyers and other constitutional experts). Neither the former military dictatorship and one-party system nor the multiparty democracy, instituted by the country’s constitutional experts under the 1991 constitution, succeeded in laying the ground for economic recovery and sustainable development. 98. The major challenge for good political governance in Benin is to forge a true democracy that is founded on efficient institutions capable of introducing sound initiatives for economic development and of building a prosperous nation in line with the vision of an ‘emerging Benin’. 99. The very essence of a multiparty democracy is the improvement of the lives of the people. It is not enough to confer freedom of expression, the right to vote and other civil rights on the people. They need access to food, health care and education: indeed, the basic human rights. The challenge at hand is to ensure that all Beninese have a minimum standard of living! 100. Fortunately, the current leaders seem to recognise this and have resolutely geared their programmes toward sustainable development that is aimed at the material, spiritual and cultural advancement of the nation as a whole. Great strides have been made in this direction. 101. Some major achievements and assets of Benin are:  the establishment of a peaceful climate and political and institutional stability, making the country an oasis in a region of violence and conflict; 57