It ends with an "i"!

From Roach Busters

Revision as of 06:41, 2 April 2009 by 63.225.146.152 (Talk)
(diff) ←Older revision | view current revision (diff) | Newer revision→ (diff)

Chapter I - The Head of State

Part I - The President and the Vice-President of the Federation

1. The President of the Federation shall be the head of state and the primary representative of the Ledgersian people in both domestic affairs and international relations. He shall be directly elected by the people of Ledgersia as hereinafter provided.

2. (1) A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President of the Federation if he-
(a) is a citizen of Ledgersia by birth;
(b) has attained forty years of age;
(c) is qualified to be registered as a voter for the election of members of the House of Representatives in one of the States; and
(d) has resided for at least fifteen years within the limits of Ledgersia.

(2) A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if-
(a) he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Ledgersia or has made a declaration of allegiance to such other country; or
(b) under the law in any part of Ledgersia, he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind; or
(c) he is under a sentence of imprisonment or fine for any offense involving dishonesty or fraud (by whatever name called) or for any other offense, imposed on him by any court or tribunal or substituted by a competent authority for any other sentence imposed on him by such a court or tribunal; or
(d) he is an undischarged bankrupt, having been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in Ledgersia or any other country; or
(e) being a person employed in the civil or public service of the Federation or of any State, he has not resigned, withdrawn, or retired from the employment at least thirty days before the date of the election; or
(f) he has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by any court, tribunal, or commission set up under any law by the federal government or any State government, which indictment has been accepted by the federal or State government, respectively; or
(g) he has presented a forged certificate to the Federal Electoral Commission.

(3) Where in respect of any person who has been-
(a) adjudged to be a lunatic or declared to be of unsound mind; or
(b) adjudged or declared bankrupt;

any appeal against the decision is pending in any court of law in accordance with any law in force in Ledgersia, subsection (2) of this section shall not apply during a period beginning from the date when such appeal is lodged and ending on the date when the appeal is finally determined or, as the case may be, the appeal lapses or is abandoned, whichever is earlier.

3. (1) The election of the President of the Federation shall be held ninety days before the end of the administration of the President then holding office.

(2) The candidate who obtains an absolute majority of the votes validly cast shall be deemed to be elected President of the Republic. Blank and null and void votes shall be considered as if they had not been cast.

(3) Should there be more than two candidates in the presidential election, none of them obtaining more than half of the votes validly cast, a new election shall be held within twenty days from the announcement of the results. This election shall be limited to the two candidates with the highest relative majorities.

(4) Should one of the candidates, before the second round of voting is held, die, withdraw, or become legally impaired, the candidate with the highest number of votes among the remaining candidates shall be deemed to be elected President.

(5) If, in the event of the preceding subsections, more than one candidate with an equal number of votes remains in second place, the eldest one shall qualify.

4. In the event that, after ten days from the date scheduled for the inauguration, the President of the Federation, except by reason of force majeure has not taken office, the office shall be declared vacant.

5. The President shall not, during his tenure of office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever.

6. (1) A person elected to the office of President shall not begin to perform the functions of that office until he has declared his assets and liabilities and has taken and subscribed the following oath before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court:

"I, A.B., do hereby swear (or affirm) to faithfully perform my duties as President of the Federation, to preserve the independence of the nation, to maintain, defend, and uphold the Constitution and all other laws of the Federation, and to consecrate myself to the service of the people. So help me God."

(In case of affirmation, the last sentence may be omitted.)

(2) The President shall take office immediately after taking the oath as prescribed in the previous subsection.

7. (1) The President of the Federation shall hold office for a term of six years. He may not be re-elected for the consecutive period, and re-election shall be permitted only once.

(2) The term of office of the President shall commence on January 1 of the year following the year of his election.

(3) The President shall leave office on the same day on which his term of office is completed and shall be succeeded by the newly-elected President.

8. (1) The President shall not be absent from Ledgersia for a period of more than fifteen days or during the last ninety days of his administration except with the prior consent of the Senate.

(2) In any case, the President communicate the Senate with due anticipation, his decision to leave the country and the reasons therefor.

(3) Failure to comply with the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) shall automatically entail loss of office.

9. (1) The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Senate, appoint ambassadors, plenipotentiaries, diplomatic representatives, and other diplomatic officers, consuls, and consular officers; the justices of the Supreme Court, if and when vacancies in the membership of the Court shall arise; the commanders of the armed forces; and all officers of the public service of Ledgersia, unless the appointment is delegated by the Constitution or by a law of Parliament to some other authority.

(2) The President shall have power to fill all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session; but no person rejected by the Senate shall be reappointed to the same office during their ensuing recess.

10. The President shall have power, with due regard to the provisions of this Constitution, to appoint the times for the holding of sessions of Parliament and to prorogue Parliament, or to dissolve the House of Representatives and call general elections thereto.

11. The President shall have power to enter into and ratify treaties and international agreements; but no treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the members of the Senate.

12. (1) The President shall be the commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the Federation and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion. In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place Ledgersia or any part thereof under martial law. Within forty-eight hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in person or in writing to Parliament. Parliament, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President. Upon the initiative of the President, Parliament may, in the same manner, extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by Parliament, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it. Parliament, if not in session, shall, within twenty-four hours following such proclamation or suspension, convene in accordance with its rules without need of a call.

(2) The Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any citizen, the sufficiency of the factual basis of the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or the extension thereof, and must promulgate its decision thereon within thirty days from its filing.

(3) A state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the Constitution, nor supplant the functioning of the civil courts or legislative assemblies, nor authorize the conferment of jurisdiction on military courts and agencies over civilians where civil courts are able to function, nor automatically suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.

(4) The suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall apply only to persons judicially charged for rebellion or offenses inherent in, or directly connected with, invasion.

(5) During the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, any person thus arrested or detained shall be judicially charged within three days, otherwise he shall be released.

13. (1) The President shall have power to declare war and to make peace; but he shall not declare war or make peace without the prior consent of Parliament, except for the circumstances mentioned in subsection (3).

(2) Parliament may only authorize the President to declare war or to make peace by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses, assembled in joint session and voting separately.

(3) In cases of a direct attack upon Ledgersian territory or an imminent invasion thereof, the President shall not require parliamentary consent to declare war.

14. The President may grant honors, military and diplomatic ranks, and other state awards established by law, to individuals who have provided exemplary service to the Federation.

15. (1) Except in cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided by law, the President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, after conviction by final judgment.

(2) The President shall also have power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all the members of Parliament.

16. (1) There shall be for Ledgersia a Vice-President of the Federation.

(2) In any election to which the foregoing provisions of this Chapter relate, a candidate for an election to the office of President shall not be deemed to be validly nominated unless he nominates another candidate as his associate for his running for the office of President, who is to occupy the office of Vice-President and that candidate shall be deemed to have been duly elected to the office of Vice-President if the candidate for an election to the office of President who nominated him as such associate is duly elected as President in accordance with the provisions aforesaid.

(3) The provisions of this Chapter relating to qualification for election, tenure of office, disqualification, declaration of assets and liabilities, and oaths of President shall apply in relation to the office of Vice-President as if references to President were references to the Vice-President.

(4) The Vice-President shall replace the President in the event of impediment and shall succeed him in the event of vacancy.

(5) In addition to other duties attributed to him by a supplementary law, the Vice-President shall assist the President whenever summoned by him for special missions.

17. In the event of impediment of the President and the Vice-President or of vacancy of the respective offices, the functions and duties of the President shall be assumed and performed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives or, if the office of Speaker is absent or the holder of that office is unable to act, the President of the Senate or, if his office is vacant or he is unable to act, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

18. (1) In the event of vacancy of the offices of President and Vice-President, elections shall be held ninety days after the occurrence of the last vacancy.

(2) If the vacancy occurs during the last two years of the President's term of office, the elections for both offices shall be held thirty days after the last vacancy as established bv law.

(3) In any of the cases, those elected shall complete the term of office of their predecessors.

19. (1) The President or Vice-President, as the case may be, shall answer before Parliament for crimes committed in the performance of his functions.

(2) If charges against the President or Vice-President, as the case may be, are accepted by at least two-thirds of the members of the House of Representatives, he shall be submitted to trial before the Senate.

(3) The President or Vice-President, as the case may be, shall not be convicted without the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the members of the Senate.

(4) Conviction shall cause removal from office and disqualification from re-election.

(5) For crimes that are not committed in the performance of his functions, the President or Vice-President, as the case may be, shall answer before the common courts, once his term of office has ended.

20. (1) The President may resign his office by lodging his resignation in writing to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

(2) The Vice-President may resign his office by lodging his resignation in writing to the President.

21. (1) The President and Vice-President shall receive such salaries and allowances as shall be prescribed by a law of Parliament.

(2) The salaries of the President and Vice-President shall not be increased or decreased during their term of office.




The President of the Council of Ministers, through consultation with the cabinet, lays down the state's general policy and supervises its implementation.

Personal tools