Revised Constitution of Ledgersia

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Revision as of 06:47, 12 July 2010

CHAPTER — The Executive

PART I — The President and the Vice-President

1. (1) There shall be a President of the Republic who shall be the Head of State, the Head of Government, and Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Forces.

(2) The powers of the President shall be exercised in accordance with this Constitution and the laws.

2. There shall be a Vice-President who shall be the principal assistant of the President in the discharge of his executive functions and shall be responsible, under the directions of the President, for such business of the government of _____ (including the administration of any department of Government) as the President may assign to him.

3. (1) The President shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution and subject thereto.

(2) (1) The President shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution and subject thereto.

(2) Election of the President shall be —
(a) by direct, universal and equal suffrage; and
(b) conducted in accordance with principles and procedures to be determined by Act of Parliament:

Provided that no person shall be elected as President unless he received more than fifty percent of the votes cast and the necessary number of ballots shall be conducted until result is reached.

(3) The procedures to be followed for the nomination of candidates for election as President, and for all matters necessary and incidental to ensure the free, fair and effective election of a President, shall be determined by Act of Parliament:

Provided that any registered political party shall be entitled to nominate a candidate, and any person supported by a minimum number of registered voters to be determined by Act of Parliament shall also be entitled to be nominated as a candidate.

(4) Every presidential candidate shall declare who shall be his Vice-President if he is elected at the time of his nomination.

(5) The Vice-President shall be elected concurrently with the President and the name of a candidate for the Vice-President shall appear on the same ballot paper as the name of the Presidential candidate who nominated him.

4. Notwithstanding any provision of this Constitution to the contrary, a person shall only be qualified for nomination for election as President or Vice-President if that person —
(a) is a citizen of _____ by birth; and
(b) has attained the age of thirty-five years.

5. No person shall be eligible for nomination as a candidate for election as President or Vice-President if that person —
(a) is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state;
(b) has been declared insolvent or adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law for the time being in force in _____ and has not been discharged, or has made a composition with his creditors and has not paid his debts in full;
(c) is certified to be insane or otherwise adjudged or declared to be of unsound mind under any law for the time being in force in _____;
(d) is the holder of a public office or a member of Parliament, unless that person first resigns;
(e) is a serving member of the Defense Forces or _____ Police Force;
(f) is under a sentence of imprisonment (by whatever name called) exceeding six months imposed on him by such a court or substituted by competent authority for some other sentence imposed on him by such a court;
(g) has, within the last seven years, been convicted by a competent court of a crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude; or
(h) has, within the last seven years, been convicted by a competent court of any violation of any law relating to election of the President or election of the members of Parliament.

6. (1) Before a person elected to be President or Vice-President takes office that person shall take the following oath which shall be administered in public by the Chief Justice:

“I.....do solemnly swear that I will maintain the Constitution of _____ and uphold its laws, that I will fulfil my duties faithfully and conscientiously in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and that I will dedicate my abilities to the service and welfare of the people of _____. So help me God.”

(2) Instead of taking an oath, the President or Vice-President may, if he thinks fit, make an affirmation which shall be in the like form with the substitution of “affirm” for “swear”, and the omission of the final sentence.

(3) A person elected to be President or Vice-President shall be sworn into office, in accordance with subsection (1), within thirty days of being elected.

(4) The President and Vice-President shall hold office until such time as his successor is sworn in.

7. (1) The President shall hold office for a period of five years from the date upon which he takes the oath prescribed in section six, and shall, on the termination of his period of office, be eligible for re-election:

Provided that a President who has held office for two terms shall not be eligible for re-election for a third term of office.

(2) The Vice-President shall hold office from the date of the administration of the oath of office to them until the end of the President's term of office unless his office should come to an end sooner in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

8. (1) Whenever the President dies, resigns or ceases to hold office, the Vice-President shall assume office as President with effect from the date of the death, resignation or ceasing to be President.

(2) If the office of President —
(a) becomes vacant in circumstances in which there is no Vice-President; or
(b) is vacant whilst the Vice-President is absent from _____ or is, by reason of physical or mental infirmity unable to perform the functions of his office, the functions of the office of President shall, until such time as a new President assumes office in accordance with this section or section two of this Constitution, be performed by such Minister as the Cabinet shall appoint. For the purposes of this subsection, a certificate of the Chief Justice that the Vice-President is by reason of physical or mental infirmity unable to discharge the functions of his office, shall, in respect of any period for which it is in force, be conclusive and shall not be questioned in any court.

(3) Any person performing the functions of the office of President by virtue of subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall not exercise the power of the President to dissolve Parliament.

9. (1) Whenever the President is absent from _____ or considers it desirable to do so by reason of illness or any other cause he may, by directions in writing, authorize —
(a) the Vice-President; or
(b) during any period when there is no Vice-President or the Vice-President is absent from _____ or is, by reason of physical or mental infirmity, unable to perform the functions of his office, some other Minister, to discharge such of the functions of the office of President as he may specify, and the Vice-President or other Minister may discharge those functions until his authority is revoked by the President.

(2) If the President is incapable by reason of physical or mental infirmity of discharging the functions of his office and the infirmity is of such a nature that the President is unable to authorize another person under this section to perform those functions —
(a) the Vice-President; or
(b) during any period when there is no Vice-President or the Vice-President is absent from _____ or the Vice-President is, by reason of physical or mental infirmity, unable to perform the functions of his office, such Minister as the Cabinet shall appoint, shall perform the functions of the office of President.

(3) A person performing the functions of the office of President under this section shall not exercise the power of the President to dissolve Parliament.

(4) A person performing the functions of the office of President by virtue of subsection (2) of this section shall cease to perform those functions if he is notified by the President that the President is about to resume those functions.

(5) For the purposes of this section, a certificate of the Chief Justice that —
(a) the President is incapable by reason of physical or mental infirmity of discharging the functions of his office and the infirmity is of such a nature that the President is unable to authorize another person under this section to perform the functions of his office; or
(b) the Vice-President is by reason of physical or mental infirmity unable to discharge the functions of his office, shall, in respect of any period for which it is in force, be conclusive and shall not be questioned in any court:

Provided that any such certificate as is referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall cease to have effect if the President notifies any person under subsection (4) of this section that he is about to resume the functions of the office of President.

10. (1) The President or Vice-President shall be removed from office where the President or Vice-President, as the case may be, has been indicted and convicted by impeachment.

(2) The procedure for impeachment shall be as laid down by the Standing Orders of Parliament, provided that they are in full accord with the principles of natural justice and that —
(a) indictment and conviction by impeachment shall only be on the grounds of serious violation of the Constitution or serious breach of the written laws of the Republic that either occurred or came to light during the term of office of the President or the Vice-President;
(b) indictment on impeachment shall require the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives in a committee of the whole house;
(c) conviction on impeachment shall require the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of both Chambers;
(d) conviction in cases of impeachment shall cause the removal, and disqualification from future office, of the office holder; and
(e) conviction by way of impeachment shall not act as a bar to legal proceedings.

11. The President and Vice-President shall receive such salary or allowance as may, from time to time, be determined by an Act of Parliament and shall have such adequate number of residences and personal staff, at State expense, as an Act of Parliament may prescribe.

PART II — The Cabinet