President of Alaoyi

Federal President of Alaoyi
3 official names Nuwelander Federale President van Aloë Diash Uachtarán Chónaidhme Aloeí Ndibeanyan Onye Isi Ala Mpaghara nke Alaoyi
Incumbent Durand Francois since 8 January, 2024
Style	His Excellency
Member of	Cabinet Federal Defense Council Federal Economic Council Presidential Policy Council
Residence	Blue House
Seat	Seekant
Appointer	Popular Vote majority required under two-round system
Term length	5 years renewable once
Constituting instrument	Alaoyian Constitution
Formation	1 January, 1960 (as Confederate President) 1 January, 1989 (under the Federative Republic)
Deputy	Chief Minister
Salary	702,000 marks per year

The president of Alaoyi, officially the federal president of Alaoyi is the head of state and head of government of the Federative Republic of Alaoyi. The president is the leader of the executive branch and is the chief of the Alaoyian Armed Forces.

The modern Alaoyian presidential system has its roots with the civil strife of the 1950s where the parliamentary system was abolished and replaced by a strong presidential system. The initial presidency was intended to maintain stability, compared to the constant fracturing of the Alaoyian parliamentary coalitions. The 1960 election was the first, with a special electoral college electing Chinou Onyekachukwu as president for a seven year term. With the advent of the 1989 constitution, the presidential term was limited to five years and faced several checks on its power.

Since the end of ewezuga the presidential term has been limited to five year terms, although limited to two consecutive terms, and is directly elected in a two-round system requiring a majority to be elected. Durand Francois is the incumbent, having been elected in 2023.

History

The presidency of Alaoyi was first proposed upon independence in 1938, when it failed in the Alaoyian constitutional negotiations by a single vote and the parliamentary republic was taken instead. Twenty two years later, shortly after the end of the civil strife of the 1950s, the constant collapsing of the parliamentary coalitions encouraged Alaoyi to adopt a popularly elected president, the first of whom was Chinou Onyekachukwu. Onyekachukwu would serve until the 1967 elections. The presidency during the Confederation Period was relatively strong thanks to the tendency to have the parliament be of the same party as the president. It was hoped that the stability and power of the presidency would help reduce the civil strife in comparison to the constant changes of the parliamentary era. The final election took place in 1981 and saw the reformist Agabe Malanwe take office. Malanwe would heavily reform all of Alaoyian politics, including the presidency. With the opening up of the presidency for direct popular vote the country became signifigantly more democratic and accountable to the people. However, the severing of some legislative powers indirectly weakened the office of president, although it is still by far the most powerful single position in the Alaoyian political system.

Powers and Duties

Legislative Powers

Despite being formally separated from the Federal Parliament, the president exerts signifigant influence on the legislative process due to official powers such as the ability to propose legislation or to veto legislation, or unofficial powers like his role as the leader of his party or acess to the largest pulprit in the country. Otther legislative powers include;

• The president has the ability to formally propose legislation to the Senate to consider. Legislation proposed by the president is guaranteed to be heard by the relevant committees and the Senate as a whole. If the legislation passes the Senate, the National Council is required to debate the legislation as well.
• If the president chooses to veto a piece of legislation, it will not pass unless the Federal Parliament overrides the veto by a two thirds vote.
• Many agencies which regulate the Alaoyian government are created by the Federal Parliament but administered by the executive branch, i.e. the president. This gives the executive branch, and indirectly the president, considerable influence on the exact goals and guidelines of regulatory agencies.
• The president has a large impact on popular opinion and wields what many political pundits call "the largest stage in Alaoyi". As such, the president is considered to have large amounts of informal influence over the Parliament.
• The president has the power to force the Parliament to convene, allowing the government to take action during times of crisis when the Parliament is not in session.

Executive Powers

The president is the leader of the executive branch of the Alaoyian government. This comes with several key executive powers;

• The president has the power to appoint key members of the federal bureaucratic agencies which regulate and administer most of Alaoyi's government functions. Additionally, the president has the power to issue presidential orders to these agencies, although acts of Parliament and the High Court can overrule these orders.
• The president sets the foreign policy of Alaoyi. The presidential power to appoint ambassadors and negotiate with foreign officials means that much of foreign policy is run through the presidency and not the Parliament of Alaoyi.
• The president is the commander-in-chief of Alaoyi's military and is empowered to mobilize the military during times of emergency. Parliament has the power to fund the military and declare war, but the president is the ultimate commander of the military's strategy.
• The president, in addition to appointing judicial officials, also has the power to request executive privilege and secret privilege. Executive privilege puts a temporary hold on the disclosure of certain materials but can be overriden by any judge. Secret privilege can only be overruled by Parliament or the High Court.

Election

Requirements

According to the Alaoyian Constitution, the president is required to be at least 38 years old, a natural-born Alaoyian citizen without foreign citizenship, a current resident of Alaoyi for at least 10 years, in full exercise of electoral rights (i.e. without a violent felony conviction), and is a registered voter. Although Alaoyians hailing from one of Alaoyi's autonomous republics are considered to be natural-born Alaoyian citizens with duel citizenship of both Alaoyi and their republic, this duel citizenship does not violate the sole citizen clause.

Term Limits

The president of Alaoyi serves a term of five years, renewable once. Periods of being the acting president, exercising power without the office, do not count towards an individual's limit on terms. If an individual is elected president and serves three years and one day or more of another president's term then it shall count as a full term.

The president has been chosen by democratic election since the 1960s, with full democracy allowed since 1989; Alaoyi was previouslyunder a parliamentary system. The length of the presidential term was reduced from seven years to five years following the 1989 reforms; the first election for a shorter term was held in 1988.

Running for Other Offices

Presidential candidates can run for any local or regional position, but cannot run for positions in the Federal Parliament or be members of the Cabinet while running for office.

Removal and Succession

Removal

In the event that the Senate finds the president has committed a "high crime of state" that "warrants removal", it may formally recommend the president to trial before the Senate. The president is entitled to no more than ten sessions of eight hours to defend his case. In turn, the Senate prosecutor is only allowed the same amount of time to make the case against the president. After the trial has ended, a two thirds vote by secret ballot is required to removal the president from office. During the trial, the Chief Minister assumes the title of acting president. Trials cannot last longer than 180 days and must end the week before any election is held. The National Council cannot try the president but has the power to formally charge him and force the Senate to hold a trial.

Only one president has seen trial, Johann Kleks, who was the subject of a scandal involving an affair with a female staffer. Kleks was formally charged by the Senate. Despite initially being resistant to resigning and feeling he could win a trial, a joint statement by the leaders of both the Socialist and Republican parties that they would recommend the removal of Kleks led him to resign before the vote could be held.

Declaration of Inability

The president may also either declare himself unfit to hold office by transmitting to Clerk of Parliament that he is unable to discharge his duties. In the event such an inability lasts more than 60 days, Parliament can remove the president by a three fifths vote. If the vote fails, the Parliament may vote again every 30 days. Once the president transmits that he is prepared to take up his duties again to the Clerk then he is entitled to take up his duties, regardless of the opinion of Parliament.

Alternatively, the Chief Minister, along with a majority of the Cabinet, can vote to declare the president unfit to hold the office. The president can override such a declaration with his own statement within nine days. If the president fails to do so, the Chief Minister becomes acting president and the president is considered to have been removed from office. If the president does override the declaration, then the Chief Minister can issue a second declaration. If this happens, the Parliament can decide the question with a three fifths vote.

Succession

Prior to the 1989 reforms, in the event that the president dies or the office is otherwise vacant, the Chief Minister would assume the office of president and serve the rest of the term. Since 1989, the Chief Minister is merely the acting president, exercising power without holding the office itself. Only one resignation and one death have occured, removal from office has never occured.

If the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office within the first two years of his presidency then he shall be replaced by a popular election to be held the next day of election, customarily the first Sunday of December which is not 1 December, provided that date is within 180 days. If it is more than 180 days away, then the election will be held the following year. This method of replacing a president has never been used.

If the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office within the last three years of his presidency, then the National Council will nominate three candidates, with each one requiring at least two fifths of the National Council to vote for their nomination. The Senate will then elect the new president with a two thirds vote. If the president cannot be elected within five ballots, the lowest vote earner will be eliminated. At ten ballots the threshold is lowered to three fifths, at fifteen it is lowered to a simple majority in both house. This method has only been used once.

Post-Presidency

Following the retirement from the presidency, some presidents choose to work for humanitarian causes. Breasal Ó Conaill became an advocate for global democracy, with the Conaill Foundation becoming a well known election monitoring and human rights advocacy organization. Others pursue academic careers, with Lukas MacDarcy becoming chancellor of the well known University of Rivierkant. Others still, especially if the incumbent is a member of their party, become unofficial ambassadors and representatives. During the 2014 crisis with Inglaterra, former president Agabe Malanwe, well regarded in Aachtigen, served as a personal messenger for incumbent president Adriaan Breytenbach to help defuse the crisis.

By law, presidents are guaranteed several benefits. The benefits include;

• Permanent security detail for both the president, his spouse, and children under the age of 25.
• The use of an official vehicle and driver.
• Funding for a presidential archive and library.
• Presidential pension, currently ₭300,000 (₥702,000), equal to the presidential salary.
• A monthly pension is granted to unmarried daughters, widows, and sons under the age of 25 if the ex-president dies. The pension is currently ₭12,500 (₥29,250) per month, equal to half the incumbent president's monthly salary
• A travel fund for former presidents exists but can only be used with the approval of the incumbent president.

These benefits can be revoked by a majority vote in Parliament if the former president was removed from office or resigned, but the incumbent president can veto. If non-monetary benefits are changed, then they will not affect current ex-presidents unless the ex-president agrees. Monetary benefits, such as the presidential pension, cannot be reduced for current ex-presidents, only increased.

Officeholders

List of Presidents

1960-1987

Political Parties:
  Free National Party   Democratic Populist Party   Republican Party   National Populist Party

Portrait		President (Birth–Death)	Term		Party	First Level Division	Elections	Notes
1		Chinou Onyekachukwu (1890–1972)	9 January 1961	8 January 1968	Free National	Alaọhụrụ	1960	The first president elected, Onyekachukwu did not touch many of Alaoyi's discriminatory laws and practices, but is praised for his foreign policy, where he attempted to normalize relations with Inglaterra, although this normalization was effectively killed by the shootdown of an Inglaterran spyplane over Alaoyi.
			6 years and 364 days
2		Chydi Nkemdilim (1910–1989)	8 January 1968	6 January 1975	Democratic Populist	Obodokefriza	1967	Elected in wake of higher tensions with Inglaterra and Alanna, Nkemdilim was a hardline president who increased discrimination laws and made ewezuga a permanent part of the Alaoyian constitution. Nkemdilim is criticized for his discriminatory policies and hardline views, which encouraged the election of Jan Mark Werschef, sparking the Third Great War.
			6 years and 363 days
3		Uwaezuoke Chidi (1922–1977)	6 January 1975	31 December 1977	Free National	Alankocha	1974	Elected just before the Third Great War, Chidi dismantled many discriminatory policies, though not all, in an attempt to use all of Alaoyi's resources and population during the war. However, Chidi would be killed in the New Year's Raid, where a large missile attack killed Chidi and most of his Cabinet.
			2 years and 359 days
4		Okafo Somayina (1916–1988)	31 December 1977	11 January 1979	Republican	Okenkeagba	None, ascended to office	Ascending to office during the midst of the Third Great War, Somayina was heavily criticized for his handling of the war, including the removal of competent generals in favor of political allies, the dismantling of heavily decorated and capable military units made up of Nuwelander and Diash troops, and the demotion of capable Nuwelander and Diash NCOs. Despite reversing many of these decisions, Somayina's attempt to run for a term of his own was rebuffed by Malanwe's overwhelming victory in the 1981 election.
			1 year and 11 days
5		Agabe Malanwe (1936–2021)	11 January 1979	1 January 1987	National Populist	Amahọhụrụ	1979	Elected during the Third Great War, Malanwe had a well known reputation as a social conservative. However, to the surprise of many, Malanwe would be a reformer who would go to abolish the discriminatory policies and practices in Alaoyi. Malanwe would become the interim president in 1987 and serve until 1989.
			7 years and 355 days

1987-Present

The era after the end of ewezuga saw a dramatic shift in the country's politics as the Socialists dominated the former political sphere due to a split in the Populists. However, with the institution of the two round system in 1998 presidential elections have become much more competitive than they were in years prior.

Political Parties:
  Independent   Socialist Party   Democratic Alliance   National Populist Party

Portrait		President (Birth–Death)	Term		Party	First Level Division	Elections	Notes
Interim Government
1		Agabe Malanwe (1936–2021)	1 January 1987	9 January 1989	Independent	Amahọhụrụ	1986 (special election)	Served as interim president between the abolishment of the ewezuga system and the adoption of the new constitution, which would take place in 1989. Oversaw the 1988 elections, the first fully representative democratic elections in Alaoyi.
			2 years and 8 days
Constitution of 1989 Adopted
2		Willem de Frederiks (1923–2005)	9 January 1989	3 January 1994	Socialist	Groot Meer	1988	The first post-ewezuga president of Alaoyi and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of ewezuga through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically a democratic socialist and pacifist, de Frederiks led a massive overhaul of the country's pension system, downsized the military, and encouraged more peaceful relations with Inglaterra. He refused to run in 1993.
			4 years and 359 days
3		Lukas MacDarcy (1941–2019)	3 January 1994	4 January 1999	Socialist	O'Brian	1993	MacDarcy was the first ever Diash-speaking president of Alaoyi and succeeded President de Fredericks. Despite being elected with a plurality of the vote in 1993, a short recession would decrease MacDarcy's popularity. As a result, MacDarcy would lose the 1998 election to the National Populist Candidate Breasal Ó Conaill by a signifigant margin in the second round. After losing the 1998 election, MacDarcy described himself as permanently retiring from political life.
			5 years and 1 day
Two-Round System Implemented
4		Breasal Ó Conaill (1943–)	4 January 1999	5 January 2004	National Populist	Blinnobair	1998	The fourth elected president of Alaoyi, Ó Conaill became the first candidate to run and win against an incumbent president, beating Lukas MacDarcy in the 1998 election. Ó Conaill oversaw several international crises. Ideologically, he was much more militaristic than either of his predecessors and took a harder line on relations with Alanna, which dominated his term. Ó Conaill was not renominated by the National Populist Party, and ran an independent campaign in the 2003 election, but failed to win in the second round.
			5 years and 1 day
5		Mbat Mokaril (1949–)	5 January 2004	5 January 2009	Democratic	Alankocha	2003	The fifth elected president of Alaoyi, Mbat continued a stretch of presidents winning election against their incumbent predecessors, just slightly edging out Breasal Ó Conaill in a close election. Mbat is also credited with breaking the hold of the National Populist Party on the center-right in Alaoyian politics, leading the more third way conservative factions in a break from the National Populist Party and winning election on the Democratic Alliance ticket. Despite being broadly popular and having been renominated for a second term, the death of his wife from pancreatic cancer in September of 2008 led Mbat to refuse to for reelection and retire from politics at the end of his term.
			5 years and 0 days
6		Johann Kleks (1962–)	5 January 2009	21 February 2012	Socialist	Rivierkant	2008	The sixth elected president, Kleks becaame the first president to resign prior to the end of his term. Negative press from a sex scandal ruined his initial popularity. The scandal, in which Kleks became accused of having sexual relations with a staffer, who was only 22 at the time of the affair, led to a public divorce trial and resignation.
			3 years and 40 days
7		Agu Dike (1930–2016)	21 February 2012	6 January 2014	Socialist	Calawene	2012 (special election)	The seventh elected president, and the only one elected via special election. In addition, Agu is the oldest president in Alaoyian history. Appointed to the position of deputy president as a sinecure, his duties were needed after the 2012 resignation of Kleks. Dike would retire after his term expired, at the age of 84.
			1 year and 319 days
8		Adriaan Breytenbach (1970–)	6 January 2014	8 January 2024	Democratic	Seekant	2013 and 2018	The eighth elected president, Breytenbach was also the youngest ever elected as president, when he won at the age of 43 years old in 2013. Breytenbach oversaw the collapse of relations with Inglaterra and Alanna, alongside with strengthening ties with the Antarctic Circle States and the Furbish Islands. He also became the first, and currently only, president to be re-elected. He would retire, ineligible for another term, in 2024.
			10 years and 2 days
9		Durand Francois (1959–)	8 January 2024	Incumbent	Democratic	Magada	2023	The ninth elected and incumbent president, Durand the first Marchan president ever elected.
			322 days