The government is a republic comprised of a strong administrator branch including the President, Prime minister and Council of Ministers, and weaker legislative branch (unicameral National Assembly) and judicial branch. Government and opposition party members, as well as civil society and the military are described in the three branches, although the President appoints the Prime Minister, members of the cabinet (Council of Ministers), top military officials and managers of national parastatals. For administration purposes, the nation is separated into 16 prefectures that are further separated into over 60 subprefectures; the commune of Bangui is administered separately. Heads of these administrative units, called "prefets" and "sous-prefets" are currently appointed by the president.

The National Assembly is made up of 109 members elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms. The last legislative elections were held in 1998; in contested results, the governments MLPC won just over 50% control of the legislative body. There are 174 communes, each headed by a mayor and council appointed by the president. The judicial area encompasses the Constitutional Court, Criminal Court, Court of Cassation, Court of Appeals, criminal and civil courts, Labor Court and Juvenile Court, although several of these courts have insufficient resources and trained personnel to operate on a regular basis. The Criminal Court of Bangui sits once or twice a year, usually for one or 2 months each session. Judges are appointed by the president; administrator determine often obstruct transparent handling of judicial affairs.