Thousands Call For Elections In Zaire

Nearly 50,000 people marched through the main boulevard of Zaire’s capital Friday to call for an end to the 31-year dictatorship of President Mobutu Sese Seko.

Traffic was jammed for nearly two hours as protesters paraded down Boulevard du 30 Juin to the Supreme Court to demand that elections be held as scheduled next May.

“This is to say no to injustice and to show the determination of the people to liberate themselves … despite 36 years of independence,” declared Adrien Phongo, leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress, the largest opposition coalition.

Since the former Belgian colony gained independence in 1960, it has become one of the most corrupt and impoverished countries on the continent. Mobutu, who took power in a 1965 coup, has postponed elections three times since declaring a transition to democracy in 1990.