Zaire’s Mobutu Lifts Political Opposition Ban

President Mobutu Sese Seko today announced plans to lift a 20-year-old ban on opposition parties after weeks of pressure from all sectors of society and from Western supporters.

Mobutu said his Popular Movement for the Revolution, since 1970 the only official party, no longer will hold special status. Initially, three parties will be allowed, Mobutu said.

He also said the country’s constitution will be rewritten and a transition government set up to run the country until elections can be held. The new government will be in place by April 24, 1991, he said.

He also lifted a ban on Western-style suits and said people will no longer be forbidden to call each other “sir” or “madame.” He had previously required them to use “citizen” in an effort to replace European influences.

Mobutu made the announcement in a nationally broadcast speech.

Thousands of Zaireans poured into the capital’s streets to cheer his decision to permit a multiparty democracy. Waving branches, chanting and singing, crowds of all age groups blocked the streets of downtown Kinshasa.

In recent weeks, Mobutu had been battered by a wave of unprecedented criticism, the culmination of his own campaign to gauge popular opinion. The country’s Roman Catholic bishops compared his rule to a monarchy.

In January, after the tumult in Eastern Europe, Mobutu began a tour of Zaire seeking public comment on his rule. Zaire is as large as the United States east of the Mississippi.

Thousands of replies came from business groups, churches, unions, students and individuals. Many bitterly criticized the government and Mobutu, accusing the president and his aides of corruption and monopolizing power.