The National Movement of the Revolution (, abbreviated MNR) was a political party in the Republic of the Congo. MNR was founded at a congress held June 29 to July 6, 1964. MNR was instituted as the sole legal political party in the country on July 20, 1964, according to the Law No. 25-65.Bazenguissa-Ganga, Rémy. Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique. Paris: Karthala, 1997. pp. 105-106 Pre-existing political parties were ordered to fuse into the MNR.Nohlen, Dieter, Michael Krennerich, and Bernhard Thibaut. Elections in Africa: A Data Handbook. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. p. 260 MNR adopted scientific socialism as its ideological foundation.Bazenguissa-Ganga, Rémy. Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique. Paris: Karthala, 1997. p. 133 Ambroise Noumazalaye was the First Secretary of the party.Bazenguissa-Ganga, Rémy. Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique. Paris: Karthala, 1997. p. 109

MNR was a mass party. It had two central leading organs, a Central Committee and a Political Bureau. The Political Bureau executed the decisions of the Central Committee. It also gave the President approval regarding the appointment of ministers in the government of the Republic. The leftwing faction of party was based in the northern areas of the country. MNR published the journal Etumba.Bazenguissa-Ganga, Rémy. Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique. Paris: Karthala, 1997. p. 439

In August 1964, a founding congress of the Youth of the National Movement of the Revolution (JMNR) was held. JMNR soon went beyond the control of the party, and on June 20, 1965 a new paramilitary structure National Civilian Defense Corps (Defense civile) was formed. The Defense civile was put under the direct control of the MNR.

In the summer of 1966 MNR moved to politicize the armed forces. A law was passed on June 22, 1966, which transformed the Congolese Armed Forces into the National People's Army (APN). A High Command of the APN was formed jointly by the government and the MNR. The High Command was led by a political commission, consisting of civilians and led by an officer party member. The lieutenant Marien Ngouabi, later the president of the country, became the APN representative in the MNR Central Committee.Bazenguissa-Ganga, Rémy. Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique. Paris: Karthala, 1997. p. 129

In the same year 1966 a political dispute erupted between the President Alphonse Massamba-Débat and the leftwing of the MNR. As a result, in the summer of 1967 a Permanent Commission of the MNR was formed. The task of the Permanent Commission was to control the day-to-day work of the government.Bazenguissa-Ganga, Rémy. Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique. Paris: Karthala, 1997. p. 114

In December 1969 MNR was substituted by a new party, the Congolese Party of Labour (PCT). PCT based itself on the MNR charter from 1966, but unlike MNR, PCT was a vanguard party.Bazenguissa-Ganga, Rémy. Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique. Paris: Karthala, 1997. p. 159

Electoral history

Presidential elections ElectionParty candidateVotes%Result1963Alphonse Massamba-Débat1,078100%Elected

National Assembly elections ElectionParty leaderVotes%Seats+/–PositionResult1963Alphonse Massamba-Débat439,635100% 55 1st

See also Cold War in the Third World People's Republic of the Congo

References