 The party won every seat in the 1959 elections, with Dacko becoming the country's first president after the CAR formally received independence from France.Dacko threw out his political rivals, including former Prime Minister and Mouvement d'évolution démocratique de l'Afrique centrale (MEDAC) leader Abel Goumba, who he forced into exile in France.With all opposition parties suppressed by November 1962, Dacko declared MESAN as the official party of the state.