Sovereign National Conference
주권 국민회의
An assembly in which representatives of the incumbent regime, opposition parties, civil society, the army and religious bodies declared themselves sovereign and adopted binding decisions. In Francophone Africa in 1990–1991 it judged the existing regime and founded a transitional order; Benin's National Conference of February 1990 is the earliest by opening date.
In depth
An assembly that declared itself sovereign
The sovereign national conference was an institution in which a gathering of delegates brought the incumbent regime, opposition parties, civil society, the army and religious bodies together, declared itself sovereign and adopted binding decisions. In Benin it declared sovereignty over the argument that a conference could only be advisory; in Congo it claimed authority superior to that of the institutions in place. Its decisions were to judge the existing regime, establish a transitional order, and repeal the constitution in favor of a fundamental act.
Benin, 19–28 February 1990, Cotonou
The National Conference of the Nation's Vital Forces met at the PLM Aledjo hotel in Cotonou from 19 to 28 February 1990 with the aim of abolishing the Marxist-Leninist regime and founding a rule-of-law state based on multiparty politics. A preparatory committee was formed on 22 December 1989 under Robert Dossou; the conference opened on 19 February and closed on 28 February.
Congo, 25 February–10 June 1991, Brazzaville
The Congolese Sovereign National Conference (CNS) met in Brazzaville from 25 February to 10 June 1991. Under internal and external pressure, including Bernard Kolélas's open letter to Sassou Nguesso in November 1988, the Central Committee of the Congolese Labour Party formally recognized multiparty politics and the abandonment of Marxism-Leninism on 4 July 1990, and on 30 September decided to introduce multiparty politics at once and to convene a national conference. Delayed by disputes over the verification of participants, the final list of 1,202 delegates was fixed on 1 March 1991; a presidium headed by Ernest Kombo was installed on 15 March, and party debates began on 19 March.
Composition was exactly 1,202 delegates: 67 parties with eight each, 134 organizations with two each, and invited individuals, while the Congolese Trade Union Confederation and the army each sent 20. The conference immediately declared itself sovereign and suspended Sassou Nguesso's presidential powers (without removing him), restored the republic's symbols (the anthem and the tricolor flag), and created a Supreme Council of the Republic to replace the national assembly.
Reckoning and compensation
The Congolese conference judged the political crimes of the Congolese Labour Party and its leadership (including the 1965 assassination case and the 1977 assassination of Ngouabi), named Sassou Nguesso as personally responsible and demanded one billion CFA francs in compensation. Sassou Nguesso's public remark "J'assume" (I take responsibility) on 26 April 1991 and a symbolic hand-washing ritual on 27 April marked the break with the past.
The transitional order and its results
On 4 June 1991 the conference adopted a Fundamental Act (Acte fondamental) governing the transition, creating a transitional prime minister with broad executive powers and a transitional Supreme Council of the Republic to oversee him, and repealed the 1979 constitution. In the first ballot on 8 June, Lissouba led with 285 votes; on the fourth ballot on 9 June, Milongo was elected transitional prime minister by 454 votes to 419, and the conference closed on 10 June. The closing was marked by the hand-washing ritual begun by Kombo and by tree planting, and 10 June became National Reconciliation Day. The Milongo government formed a week later reflected the coalition that had backed the conference, and the Congolese Labour Party obtained no ministerial post. The Supreme Council of the Republic drafted a new constitution adopted by referendum on 15 March 1992, and the conference opened the way to a return to multiparty politics and elections the following year.
Through chief of staff Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, the army declared its support for the democratization process and its political neutrality, serving republican institutions rather than parties or individuals.
Background and regional spread
The collapse of Eastern European communist governments in the late 1980s and early 1990s, international pressure for democratization, and François Mitterrand's statement at the La Baule summit of 20 June 1990 that international aid would be reduced for countries not embarking on democratization all served as catalysts. Beyond Benin (1990) and Congo (1991), several African states including Gabon, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Côte d'Ivoire convened national conferences bringing together regime, opposition and civil society to redefine political rules and begin a multiparty transition.
In Congo the conference ended the one-party system of the Brazzaville-centered People's Republic of the Congo (1969–1991), which is distinct from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, and became the institutional channel for a transfer of power leading to Pascal Lissouba's election as president in August 1992.
Disagreement among sources
Some accounts treat São Tomé and Príncipe's conference of 5–7 December 1989 as Africa's first national conference, two months before Benin, so the claim of "first" carries tension between sources. By opening date, the safer formulation is that Benin's was the first in Francophone Africa.