The Popular Movement of the Revolution ( or MPR) was a Zairian

Zaire

The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...

 political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 established on May 20, 1967 by then-President

President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , is Congo's elected Head of State, and the ex officio "Supreme Commander" of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ....

 Joseph-Désiré Mobutu (later called Mobutu Sese Seko

Mobutu Sese Seko

Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...

).

Ideology

Its official ideology, laid down in the Manifesto of N'sele, incorporated "nationalism

Nationalism

Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...

," "revolution

Revolution

A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...

," and "authenticity

Authenticité (Zaire)

Authenticité was an official state ideology of the Mobutu regime that originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s in what was first the Democratic Republic of the Congo, later renamed Zaire...

." Revolution was described as a "truly national revolution, essentially pragmatic," which called for "the repudiation of both capitalism

Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...

 and communism

Communism

Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

." One of the MPR's slogans was "Neither left nor right," to which would be added "nor even center" in later years.

One-party system

From 1967 until 1990, it was the sole legal party in the country, and membership was compulsory for all citizens (all citizens, from birth, were automatically considered to be members). The 1974 constitution stipulated that in Zaire

Zaire

The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...

 "there exists a single institution, the MPR, incarnated by its President," that the "President of the MPR is ex officio President of the Republic, and holds the plenitude of power exercise," and that "Mobutism

Mobutism

Mobutism was an official party ideology of the Popular Movement of the Revolution as well as the official state ideology in Zaire during the latter half of the 20th century...

" was constitutional doctrine.

Multi-party period

The single-party system lasted until April 24, 1990, the date of the proclamation of the Third Republic. On that date, Mobutu said that three political parties would be allowed, and he said that these political parties could be two factions of the MPR—moderates and hard-liners—as well as an opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS). Under the new multiparty system, Mobutu said that he would be above political parties, and accordingly he resigned as the head of the MPR on the same date, although he again accepted the post of party leader a year later, on April 21, 1991. After Mobutu's fall in 1997, the party splintered into various factions.

Presidential Elections

Election date	Party candidate	Number of votes received	Percentage of votes
1970 Democratic Republic of the Congo presidential election, 1970 A presidential election was held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 1 November 1970. The only candidate was Joseph Mobutu, who had taken power in a military coup five years earlier...	Joseph-Désiré Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...	10,131,669	100%
1977 Zairean presidential election, 1977 A presidential election was held in Zaire on 3 December 1977. The only candidate was Mobutu Sese Seko and the election took the format of a "yes" or "no" vote for Mobutu's candidacy. The results showed 98.2% of voters casting a "yes" vote.-Results:...	Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...	10,693,804	98.2%
1984 Zairean presidential election, 1984 A presidential election was held in Zaire in July 1984. The only candidate was Mobutu Sese Seko and the election took the format of a "yes" or "no" vote for Mobutu's candidacy. The results showed 99.16% of voters casting a "yes" vote.-Results:...	Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...	14,885,997	99.1%

Parliamentary Elections

Election date	Party leader	Number of votes received	Percentage of votes	Number of deputies
1970 Democratic Republic of the Congo parliamentary election, 1970 Parliamentary elections were held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 15 November 1970. The only legal party was the Popular Movement of the Revolution, with voters being asked to vote "yes" or "no" to the official list of 420 candidates for the National Assembly, who had been chosen from...	Joseph-Désiré Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...	9,691,132	99%	240
1975 Zairean parliamentary election, 1975 Parliamentary elections were held in Zaire on 2 November 1975. The only legal party was the Popular Movement of the Revolution, and the election saw voters approve the official list of 244 candidates "by acclaim". This took the form of the candidates being presented to the public at stadiums and...	Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...	Approved by acclaim		240
1977 Zairean parliamentary election, 1977 Parliamentary elections were held in Zaire on 15 and 16 October 1977, having originally been scheduled for 1980. The Popular Movement of the Revolution was the sole legal party at the time, and all candidates for election to the Legislative Council had to be members of it. In total, 2,074...	Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...	10,180,685	100%	252
1982 Zairean parliamentary election, 1982 Parliamentary elections were held in Zaire on 18 and 19 September 1982. The Popular Movement of the Revolution was the sole legal party at the time, and all candidates for election to the Legislative Council had to be members of it. In total, 1,409 candidates ran for the 310 seats in 154...	Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...	Unknown	Unknown	310
1987 Zairean parliamentary election, 1987 Parliamentary elections were held in Zaire on 6 September 1987. The Popular Movement of the Revolution was the sole legal party at the time, and all candidates for election to the Legislative Council had to be members of it. In total, 1,075 candidates ran for the 210 seats ....	Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...	Unknown	Unknown	210