CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE __________________________________________________________________________ The APR Panel welcomes this laudable initiative and tasks the government to provide constant support to this framework that is contributing to the enhancement of peace and tolerance in Benin. Objective 2: Promote constitutional democracy, including political contests and the opportunity to make choices freely, the rule of law, the declaration of human rights and the primacy of the constitution i. Summary of the CSAR 143. Democracy and electoral contests. Constitutional and electoral democracy has made great strides in Benin. Political parties and associations are governed by legislation. The electoral system has also been improved to ensure transparent elections. The democratic changeover of power is being respected because elections are held regularly. However, elections must be more transparent to ensure that they are free and fair. The CSAR, however, highlights a few weak areas: the excessive number of political parties; political migration; and a weak electoral system, which includes the high cost of elections, the lack of a voters’ register, bribery, the late establishment of CENA and its politicisation. These areas require solutions or actions to improve governance. These include revising the Charter of Political Parties, compiling a permanent and computerised voters’ register, establishing a permanent independent national electoral commission, and applying sanctions in the event of a drift off course. 144. Constitutional supremacy. The government of Benin has the constitution as its fundamental law. The constitution sets forth constitutional and human rights which are well-respected. Benin has several republican institutions responsible for ensuring compliance with the constitution. Some of these are the Constitutional Court, the High Court of Justice and the Supreme Court. However, implementation of the economic and socio-cultural rights of citizens is limited, interpretation of some provisions of the constitution is poor, and some of the decisions of the Constitutional Court are not implemented. This makes it necessary to revise the constitution to adapt it to the country’s peculiar situation and to restore the state’s authority. 145. Decentralisation. Decentralisation has started and is ongoing, albeit slowly. Currently, communes represent the only level of decentralisation and they are beset with problems. These problems are: poor grass-roots participation in the development process, delays in the transfer of power from government to communes, the people’s lack of involvement in the formulation of policy guidelines for communes, inadequate resources for the development of the communes, and the lack of communication between the communal 74