Presidium of Austeria
Presidium of the Austerian Republic Presidiumi i Republikës së Austrisë | |
|---|---|
| 8th Presidium | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 14 August 1988 |
| Preceded by | Presidium of the National Congress |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 21 |
 | |
Political groups | |
| Elections | |
| Closed list proportional representation (D'Hondt method with a 15% electoral threshold) | |
Last election | 24 June 2018 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Presidium building in Kartha | |
The Presidium of the Austerian Republic, commonly known as the Presidium of Austeria, is constitutionally the highest executive body of the federal government of Austeria. It is a 21-member body, lead by the President of Austeria, elected to a six-year term by a nationwide proportional representation. The body was established under the 1988 Consitution of the Austerian People's Republic as its highest government institution and remained after the formation of the current Austerian Republic.
The Presidium serves as the collective head of state and head of government of Austeria. The Presidium is chaired by the President of Austeria, officially the Chairperson of the Presidium, and exercises overall leadership of its work. The Deputy President of Austeria, formally known as the Deputy Chairperson, serves as vice-chair and is responsible for handling the daily work at the direction of the President. Despite their offices, they exercise no particular authority and ordinarily serves as first among equals. The Presidium elects the President from among its own members by a two-thirds majority vote; the President appoints the Deputy President with approval from the Presidium.
The Presidium collectively exercises the federal executive’s powers such as approving declarations of war and the signing international treaties. The body leads the administration of the federal government through its oversight of the State Council, the cabinet of the country, and government agencies. They have the authority to appoint the Premier of Austeria and other the members of the State Council, with approval of the Senate, and to dismiss them. The body collectively wields some legislative powers such the authority to veto bills from the Senate of Austeria and drafting certain types of legislation; thus they are sometimes referred to be the second chamber of the Austerian legislature. The Presidium makes decisions either by consensus, or when consensus is not possible, by the President making the final decision after two attempts to achieve a consensus.
Elections are held every six years. No member of the Presidium are allowed to run for re-election. The election is conducted by nationwide closed list proportional representation with a high electoral threshold to encourage electoral coalitions. The last election was held in 2018, where the Socialist Party of Austeria increased their share of seats. Next elections are scheduled for 30 June 2022.