User:MJ/sandbox/President of the United Earth Commonwealth

This article is written for the President of the United Earth Commonwealth set in the 22nd Century

The President of the United Earth Commonwealth is the head of state of the United Earth Commonwealth. The office holder is voted in by the people by a direct popular election. The presidency, for each successful candidate, is a six-year term. A president can only be elected for two terms (twelve years in total if a candidate can win two consecutive terms).

When a president is elected, they are also elected alongside their running mate who becomes the vice president.

Powers

Under Article Two of the Traité d’Unification, the President is expected to uphold, maintain and enforce the laws of the UEG. They have the power:

to appoint (and dismiss) the Prime Minister. They are is expected to appoint the individual most likely to be capable of commanding the confidence of a majority in the House of Representatives.
to dissolve the House of Representatives (with justified reasons) and call for a general election within ten days.
to appoint (and dismiss) federal ministers/secretaries of state. This power is undertaken through the advice of the Prime Minister and Senate confirmation.
to appoint federal executive officers (e.g.: Commonwealth Security Advisor). This power is undertaken through the advice of the Prime Minister.
to appoint (and dismiss) diplomatic officers to the United Earth Diplomatic Corps. The Prime Minister and Minister/Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs normally advise on this matter.
to nominate, and with Senate confirmation, appoint judges to the Supreme Court.
to conclude treaties with foreign powers with the advice and consent of Parliament.
to refer treaties or certain types of laws to popular referendum, within certain conditions, among them the agreement from the Prime Minister and both Houses of Parliament.
to veto any legislation passed by both Houses of Parliament.
to grant federal pardons and reprieves as well as lessen or suppress criminal sentences.
to command the Armed Services of the United Earth (de facto Commander-in-Chief). This power is undertaken through the advice of the Prime Minister, the Minister/Secretary of State for Defence as well as other members of the Commonwealth Security Council.
to sign executive orders that can last for twenty days unless Parliament passes legislation that can confirm it to become law. Executive Orders can be overridden by a majority from the House of Representatives and Senate or can be deemed unlawful and reversed by the Supreme Court.

Military powers

The official portrait of Cora Haynes, the first President of Earth, circa 2136.

When a conflict is expected to last longer than thirty days, the President is expected to inform both Houses of Parliament. The President does not have the power to declare war on another state, however, they will normally share their reasons for the declaration to the Houses of Parliament in a joint session. It is down to the Prime Minister though to ensure that support from a majority of the House of Representatives is delivered, while the Vice President is expected to encourage a majority from the Senate. Once this takes place then a declaration of war is signed off by the government.

However, the President can order Earth’s armed services to launch an attack against another state if the reason is legally justified (normally this is expected in the interest of defence). If this is to take place, then they must brief certain senior members of Parliament. This includes the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate. The Vice President, Prime Minister and other relevant cabinet members would already have been informed and/or part of the decision-making process. There is no vote on this matter and all members of government who are informed are sworn to secrecy. It will be down to the President or if they wish to delegate to the Prime Minister, to eventually inform Parliament of the planned attack by Earth forces.

Eligibility

To be eligible to hold the presidency, one must:

be at least thirty years of age;
be a born citizen of the United Earth Commonwealth.

One is ineligible to hold the office if:

they have already held the office of the president for two terms (twelve years in total).
they are a convicted criminal and after review (undertaken by the Electoral Commission) and decisions are disqualified by a majority of the two-thirds vote from the Senate.

Election, campaign, nomination and inauguration

Normally, most candidates are nominated from a political party to become a candidate for the presidency, but there are no written rules that the candidates cannot be independent.

Campaigns for the presidency normally start at least one year before the election date (1^st September of each year). Candidates declare their intentions to run and will campaign across the Commonwealth sharing their views, values and policies they wish to in-act. A majority of the time a candidate will campaign off the back of their own party’s manifesto. This is normally down to the fact that Members of Parliament are elected to the House of Representatives every three years, as a result, the race for the presidency can sometimes take place at the same time of a general election.

All citizens of the United Earth Commonwealth are allowed to vote for one candidate for the presidency. The candidate that receives a majority is elected to office.

Similar to other democracies from Earth, the president is inaugurated in a very prestigious ceremony that is broadcasted across the Commonwealth. After the election results are confirmed by the Electoral Commission, the new President-Elect is announced. They began their term of office at the start of the following year on January 1^st. During the period of September and December, the President-Elect is expected to:

appoint the new Prime Minister (if a general election took place),
nominate those who will go ahead with Senate confirmation for cabinet posts,
nominate anyone if there is a free seat on the Supreme Court
appoint federal officers as well as members of the diplomatic corps, if required.

The President is expected to take an oath of office, just like all elected and appointed members of the UEG. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will normally oversee this. If they are not available, then the next most senior judge will undertake this duty.

Terms of office

A term for a president will last six years. It begins on January 1^st of their first year and ends on December 31^st of their last year. If a president is successful in winning a consecutive second term, then the end of the first term automatically moves to the end of the second term without any changes or the need for an inauguration ceremony to take place.

A president can resign from office after writing a letter of resignation to the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Speaker of the House. The Vice President will assume the office. If there is no Vice President in office, then the Senate will appoint a President Pro-Tempore and will hold an election within thirty days. A president can be removed through an impeachment process by a majority from both Houses of Parliament and the Supreme Court.