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.[1] In total, 2,074 candidates ran for the 252 seats (reduced from 540) in 100 constituencies.[2] Voter turnout was 92.8%.[3]
The new system of elections allowed some PMR members sceptical of the government to be elected, who went on to draw attention to corruption by questioning ministers. However, after thirteen of them sent an open letter to President Mobutu Sese Seko calling for a conference on democracy, they were stripped of their parliamentary immunity and sent to prison.[2] After being released from jail, they established the Union for Democracy and Social Progress. As a result of their actions, the power of the Council was reduced, and ministers could no longer be questioned by it. PMR members were also more thoroughly scrutinised before the next elections in 1982.[2]
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