Central African Republic 1976
On August 13, 1960, the Central African Republic achieved its independence from France. President David Dacko was President of this one-party state. On December 31, 1965, Jean-Bedal Bokassa, Army Chief of Staff, seized power from the Dacko government in a coup.
In 1972, Bokassa declared himself President for life. Then on December 4, 1976, he convened an Extraordinary Congress of the Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa (MESAN), the single political party permitted under the regime, and proclaimed a Bokassa-dictated new constitution that followed changes in government that created the Council of the Central African revolution in September 1976. The document set up a monarchy with a parliament that may be dissolved by the Emperor. It provided that the Emperor chooses the Prime Minister and other officials. The government is responsible to both the Parliament and the Emperor. The Supreme Court was to arbitrate disputes between the Parliament and the Emperor. In 1977, Bokassa had himself crowned Emperor in an elaborate ceremony.
Note: On September 20, 1979, former President Dacko returned while Bokassa was on a trip to Libya and re-took power with support from French troops. Widespread violence over election fraud in 1981 prompted Dacko to flee and a military junta under Andre Kolingha took over. In October 1986, Bokassa returned to the country, was put on trial and sentenced to death. In 1988, Kolingha commuted the sentence to life imprisonment.