Zaire Opposition since 1990
Animateurs, cheerleaders for the MPR,
after a rally in Équateur Region
As noted previously, Mobutu's April 1990 announcement
of
political pluralism emphasized that three political
parties would
be permitted. Soon thereafter, however, he opted instead
for
"integral multipartyism," apparently seeing more scope for
his
habitual divide-and-rule tactics than in a three-party
arrangement.
Numerous parties formed and ultimately received legal
recognition
in 1990, but most were small and not major contenders in
elections.
By late 1991, the number of registered political parties
was placed
at 230.
The major opposition parties are the UDPS, led by
Tshisekedi;
the PDSC, led by Ileo; and the UFERI, led by Nguza. Other
noteworthy opposition political parties are the Common
National
Front (Front Commun National or Front Commun des
Nationalistes--
FCN) of Kamanda wa Kamanda; the African Socialist Party
(Parti
Socialiste Africain--PSA), led by Jibi Ngoyi; the Unified
Lumumbist
Party, led by Antoine Gizenga; and the Rally of Liberal
Democrats
(Rassemblement des Démocrats Libéraux--RDL), led by Mwamba
Mulanda
and generally allied with UFERI.
By late 1991, several opposition parties had formed a
coalition, the Sacred Union (Union Sacrée). Among the
participants,
in addition to UFERI, were the UDPS and the PDSC, which
led the socalled radical wing of the coalition, as well as the
Lumumbist
Unified Party. The radical wing refused to participate in
the newly
formed government of Nguza. Nguza and UFERI then left the
Sacred
Union and organized another political coalition within the
CNS, the
Alliance of Patriotic Forces, encompassing some thirty
opposition
parties, ten civic associations, and various individuals
united in
opposition to the Mobutu regime, but rejecting "extremist"
stands.
Adolphe Kishwe-Maya, president of a UFERI faction, headed
the
Alliance's coordination bureau. Pro-Mobutu forces, led by
the MPR,
which reportedly changed its name to Popular Movement for
the
Revival (Mouvement Populaire pour le Renouveau), worked
together in
the United Democratic Forces (Forces Démocratiques
Unies--FDU)
coalition.
In June 1993, six defectors from the Sacred Union,
claiming
that the Sacred Union had become too extremist, formed
their own
coalition, which they called the Restored Sacred Union
(Union
Sacrée Rénovée). The six had joined the Birindwa
government, and as
such could no longer be regarded as ardent opponents of
the Mobutu
regime, so their role in the anti-Mobutu, prodemocracy
movement is
suspect. The same can be said of Nguza's UFERI and
Alliance of
Patriotic Forces, given Nguza's position as first deputy
prime
minister in charge of defense in the Birindwa government.
In fact,
some observers see Nguza's acceptance of the ministerial
post as
evidence that he has been co-opted by Mobutu.
In early September 1993, Tshisekedi formed another
coalition to
organize opposition to a Mobutu plan for a constitutional
referendum to be held in October 1993 and followed by
elections in
December. The new group is called the Democratic Forces of
the
Congo-Kinshasa (Forces Démocratiques de Congo-Kinshasa).
Its
relationship to the Sacred Union is unclear, but
presumably close.
The Sacred Union, still the principal component of the
antiMobutu campaign, reportedly has been beset by
divisiveness. In
addition, Tshisekedi has been criticized both within the
transitional government and within the UDPS for being too
authoritarian and failing to hold a party conference. Such
disunity
within the opposition has continued to undermine its
effectiveness
and to play to Mobutu's advantage in the early 1990s.
Data as of December 1993
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