The Congo went in the space of fourteen years from having no political freedom whatsoever to complete independence, making the rise of legitimate democratic institutions respected by a substantial proportion of the population near-impossible. Original democratic institutions were modeled on those of France, but multiple Africanising constitutions were instituted and then set aside in 1961, 1963, 1968, 1973 and 1992. As a heterogeneous state, political parties very quickly began to focus solely on ethnic and regionalist groupings. For example, between 1946 and 1956 the Lari, an important community in the country, refused to take part in elections, with many under the belief that their deceased messianic leader André Matsoua would return. The absence of the Bakongo from early politics led to a power vacuum into which the Vili and Mbochi moved until independence.