President of Alaoyi
Federal President of Alaoyi | |||||||
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3 official names
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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 | 468,000 Alaoyian marks per year |
The president 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. Adriaan Breytenbach is the incumbent, having been elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2018.
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.
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.
History
Compensation and Privileges
Vacancies, Removal and Sucession
Post-Presidency
Officeholders
Party Affiliation
Birthplace
List of Presidents
1960-1987
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 Party National Populist Party
Portrait | President (Birth–Death) |
Term | Party | Province | Elections | Notes | ||
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Interim Government | ||||||||
1 | Agabe Malanwe (1936–2021) |
1 January 1982 |
1 January 1989 |
Independent | Alaọhụrụ Province | 1981 | 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. | |
7 years and 0 days | ||||||||
Constitution of 1989 Adopted | ||||||||
2 | Willem de Frederiks (1923–2005) |
1 January 1989 |
1 January 1994 |
Socialist | Great Lake Province | 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. | |
5 years and 0 days | ||||||||
3 | Lukas MacDarcy (1941–2019) |
1 January 1994 |
1 January 1999 |
Socialist | O'Brian Province | 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 0 days | ||||||||
Two-Round System Implemented | ||||||||
4 | Breasal Ó Conaill (1943–) |
1 January 1999 |
1 January 2009 |
National Populist | Blinnobair Province | 1998 and 2003 | The third elected president of Alaoyi, Ó Conaill became the first president to both run for and win two terms as president, winning in both 1998 and 2003. 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 second term. | |
10 years and 0 days | ||||||||
5 | Johann Kleks (1962–) |
1 January 2009 |
30 July 2011 |
Socialist | Rivierkant | 2008 | The fourth 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. | |
2 years and 210 days | ||||||||
6 | Agu Dike (1930–2016) |
30 July 2011 |
1 January 2014 |
Socialist | Calawene Province | None, ascended to office. | The fifth elected president, and the first Ndibeanyan to hold the office of president since the end of the interim government, Dike also holds the distinction of being the oldest president. Appointed to the position of deputy president as a sinecure, his duties were needed after the 2011 resignation of Kleks. Dike would retire after his term expired, at the age of 84. | |
2 years and 155 days | ||||||||
7 | Adriaan Breytenbach (1970–) |
1 January 2014 |
Incumbent | Democratic | Seekant | 2013 and 2018 | The sixth elected president, Rhoodie is also the youngest ever elected as president, when he won at the age of 43 years old in 2013. Rhoodie oversaw the collapse of relations with Inglaterra and Alanna, alongside with strengthening ties with the Antarctic Circle States and the Furbish Islands. | |
10 years and 326 days |