President of the Nemkhav Federation

President of the Nemkhav Federation
Marka Mejakhansk
Formation	12 July 2011 (Official)
Term length	1 year (January - December)
Appointed by	Federation-wide Popular Election
Inaugural holder	Marka Mejakhansk

The President of the Nemkhav Federation is the head of state and government of Nemkhavia. Empowered by the constitution, the President is the head of the executive branch of the Federal Government, taking responsibility for the day-to-day running of the micronation through a network of ministries and federal agencies.

The President is elected every year by popular vote via universal suffrage and sets the general direction of the Federation's foreign and domestic policy, as well as being the official legal protector of the Constitution. The President is also the final step of the legislative process, with all new laws requiring their signature in order to become law.

As the powers of the President are considerable, a strong system of checks and balances exists in order to maintain fairness. The President requires the approval of the Federal Assembly to create and disband ministries and federal agencies, for example. The President may only refuse to sign legislation if they believe that it may be repugnant to the constitution. Should the Supreme Court rule that it is not, the President is then obliged to comply with its ruling and sign the bill into law.

The President is entitled to use the honourific “His/Her/Their Excellency” although this has seldom been used historically.

History

The first president of the Federation was Marka Mejakhansk, considered to be the Founding Father of the Federation. He became the first President by default, with elections for the next President being held in November 2011. He was then a member of the Conservative Party.

In the November 2011 Nemkhav Presidential Elections Samuel Krimmer was elected President, receiving 5 of 9 electoral votes. He was a member of the Vanguard for Freedom, and stated that he would push for Meritocracy and States Rights. However before completing his first term in office he, along with his home state, left the Federation and Marka Mejakhansk, who had served as the first President of the Federation, took office in the interim until the scheduled elections in March 2012. After which the first President, Alex Ulbricht, to belong to the Union of Nemkhav Communists took office in what turned out to be unopposed elections.

However, come the July 2012 elections the Vanguard for Freedom fielded a candidate, Ben McKinlay, to run against the incumbent Communist President. The elections were won by the UNC candidate Alex Ulbricht who won 3 of 5 electoral votes, the count did not include Montosh which declined to vote. In this victory Ulbricht became the first person to be elected for 2 terms as President of the 2nd Nemkhav Federation. His term ended in November 2012.

In November 2012, with the departure of all states bar Novomir, Mejakhansk re-assumed the Presidency by default.

In February 2016, Marka Mejakhansk re-assumed the Presidency upon the re-establishment of the Nemkhav Federation in its third incarnation.

Eligibility & Election

The Office of the President is open to all Nemkhav citizens who have been registered for more than six months, over the age of sixteen. Nominations take place in the early autumn with the Presidential elections taking place in November. The successful candidate takes up office from the 1st of January of the following year until the 31st of December.

The President is elected by popular vote through the Member States of the Federation. Each Member State holds a vote to decide its preferred candidate, with the winner of each local vote gaining one electoral vote per State. It is then a simple majority - whoever has the most electoral votes wins.

Powers

The President is the most powerful single office-holder in the Federal Government, responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the Federation. The holder of the office retains the right to set the general direction of the Nemkhav Federation's foreign and domestic policy, leads the executive branch of the government and acts as the primary protector of the constitution. The President also appoints the Council of Ministers and the heads of Federal Agencies, all forming part of the same branch of government.

Perhaps the most considerable power held by the President is the right to refuse to sign legislation sent forward by the Federal Assembly. This right can only be exercised if the office holder feels that the new laws in question would be repugnant to the constitution. The bill is thus referred to the Supreme Court, with the President being constitutionally-bound to accept the court's ruling.

Removal from Office

The Federal Assembly retains the power to remove the President from Office. In order to make this happen, the Assembly must agree via majority vote that it is necessary. It must also furnish the Supreme Court with sufficient evidence to prove that to allow the President to continue in office would be repugnant to the constitution and to the future of the Federation.

Succession

As the Nemkhav Federation has no Vice-President, the immediate second-in-command of the Federal Government is the Prime Minister. Should the President become unable to carry out their duties, the Prime Minister will assume presidential authority until such time as the President can return to office, or elections to choose a successor can be concluded.

List of Presidents of the Second Nemkhav Federation

Term No.	Image	Name	Political Party	Term start	Term end
1	Marka Mejakhansk	Marka Mejakhansk	Conservative Party	June 5, 2011 Not elected	November 21, 2011 Term length was not defined up until this point
2	Picture Unavailable	Samuel Azehtyla	Vanguard for Freedom	November 21, 2011	January 16, 2012 Constituent state declared independence
3	Marka Mejakhansk	Marka Mejakhansk	Democratic Revolutionary Front	January 16, 2012	March 17, 2012 End of term
4	Alex Ulbricht	Alex Ulbricht	Union of Nemkhav Communists	March 18, 2012	July 20, 2012
5	Alex Ulbricht	Alex Ulbricht	Union of Nemkhav Communists	July 21, 2012	November 20, 2012
6	Marka Mejakhansk	Marka Mejakhansk	Independent	November 21, 2012	Position Dissolved

List of Presidents of the Third Nemkhav Federation

Term No.	Image	Name	Home State	Term start	Term end
1	Marka Mejakhansk	Marka Mejakhansk	Central Nemkhavia	February 21, 2016 Assumed Presidency	Incumbent Term ends upon next election