 Membership in his new party, the Rassemblement Démocratique Centrafricain (RDC), was voluntary.In 1987 and 1988, semi-free elections to parliament were held, but Kolingba's two major political opponents, Abel Goumba and Ange-Félix Patassé, were not allowed to participate.By 1990, inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall, a pro-democracy movement arose.