President of the Republic of Suntrain

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President of the
Republic of Suntrain
Presidential Standard
StyleHis Excellency (formal)
ResidencePresidential Residence, Glory
NominatorSuntrainien House of Representatives
Term length2 years
Renewable twice, consecutively, plus three additional two-year terms, not consecutively renewed
FormationNovember 1, 2013

The President of the Republic of Suntrain, also known as the President of Suntrain, is the head of state of the Republic of Suntrain, and represents national unity, allegiance, independence and sovereignty.

The President of Suntrain may be a ceremonial or more active political figure, depending on who is the Prime Minister. The President is elected by the House of Representativesto two year terms, which may be renewed twice. In addition to appointing the Prime Minister and Ministers, the President also has other powers, such as signing bills into Law or vetoing it instead.

The current president is of the Socialist Party of Suntrain, who is the inaugural holder, having taken office on 1 November 2013.

Election

Article 117 of the Constitution of Suntrain defines how the President is elected.

Following a general election, the House of Representatives nominates a candidate, who must also be a Representative sitting in that Parliament. Once candidates have been nominated, the House of Representatives, with a two-thirds vote, needs to confirm the President. Representatives vote by secret ballot, and once a candidate is confirmed, the Speaker declares him elected.

In the event that the House cannot agree to a two-thirds majority, the Senate, if sitting at the same time as the House, elects the President with a simple majority. If the Senate is not sitting, the Speaker of the House becomes the Acting President until three sittings of either House elects a President. If the President is still not elected, the Acting President can call a joint session of Parliament to elect the President with a simple majority. If the joint session does not produce a President, the Acting President dissolves all seats in the Parliament and issues writs for the a new general election. Once a President is elected, he retains his seat as a Representative and needs to take the following oath:

I, (name), hereby assert my loyalty to the Republic of Suntrain and swear to uphold its constitution and its laws, maintain its independence and to use my powers fairly and truthfully for the benefit of the Republic and its people. So help me God.

A secular version is also a secular version.

Qualification

As under article 119 of the Constitution, the President must meet the following critiria in order to hold office of the President:

  • He must be of the age of majority
  • He must be a Suntrainien citizen
  • He must be a Representative of the Parliament which elected him as President
  • He must not be serving any terms of imprisonment, nor shall he have been previously convicted of any offences which are punishable by any amount of imprisonment.

Powers and responsibilities

As mentioned earlier, the President can be a ceremonial figurehead or quite powerful, depending on who is in Government. Although the President was made to be quite powerless, since the President can also be the Prime Minister, the person President can retain a lot of power. The President retains several reserve powers like dissolving Parliament following its expiration or when the Government loses a vote of no confidence, acting as the Commander-in-Cheif of the Army, Navy and Air Force and declaring a state of emergency.

The President's main power is to appoint the Prime Minister, other Ministers and the Government, although this power is exercised depending on which party makes up the majority in the House of Representatives and the President has little, if no choice who to appoint. The President, once he appoints the Prime Minster or another Minister, cannot dismiss either.

Legislative powers

The President, as also a Representative, has several legislative powers. The President can participate in legislative proceedings and himself vote on bills. The President is often very involved in the legislature, and often takes advice from it. Parliament also cannot pass a bill, without the approval of the President. Once a bill is passed and is presented the President has three options:

  1. Sign the bill, making it law. This occurs most often as the President is likely to be from the same party which controls a majority in Parliament.
  2. Veto the bill and send it back to Parliament, not making the bill law. Parliament can over-ride the veto by passing it with a two-thirds vote in each house.
  3. Do nothing, making the bill law after a period of two weeks has expired.

The President can also sign Presidential Decrees, which have the force of law and are used "to declare national holidays, instruct the executive branch or to bring decisions or proclamations which need to be brought to the attention of the country". Presidential Decrees are also used to dissolve the Parliament and to issue writs for elections. Since Presidential Decrees only have effect on the executive branch, its approval by Parliament is not needed.

Executive powers

The President, as a member of the Government is required to "execute the Constitution and laws passed by Parliament to a degree of care, respect and responsibility, with the help of the Government of the day". This is possibly the President's greatest power, as it gives him power to administer the laws passed by Parliament. When the person President is not the Prime Minister as well, the President has fewer powers, as in that circumstance, he delegates most powers to the Cabinet and Prime Minister. The President, still however, have the power to act as the commander-in-chief of the Army, Navy and Airforce. The President, although not having full control of the Armed Forces mentioned, does have significant influence and the Minister of Defence rarely does not follow an instruction given by the President. The President can also declare war or peace with a Presidential Decree, following a two-thirds vote in both Houses.

The President has the power to appoint the government which is able to maintain the confidence of the House of Representatives and to appoint ministers, including the Prime Minister. This role, however, is purely ceremonial as the President has little to no choice on who to appoint. The President does maintain the power to appoint Justices of the Supreme Court, Justices of the Court of Justice and ambassadors according to his own likings.

The President, being the head of state also has significant influence in setting the foreign policy of the nation. The President oversees Government decisions and the execution of laws. The President's role as the chief executive means that he has a say in the way the Government administers laws passed by Parliament, and the way the Cabinet makes decisions.

Detailed powers

The President has detailed constitutional power to:

  • act as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Navy and Air Force,
  • sign into Law or veto any Bill passed by the Parliament after being presented to him,
  • dissolve the Parliament of Suntrain following its expiration and open the Parliament following its election, to perform a Double Dissolution and dissolving all seats in Parliament in mentioned circumstances, and to issue writs for elections,
  • pardon in the name of the Republic of Suntrain,
  • declare a state of emergency or the state of marital law with the consent of the Prime Minister, in necessary and unavoidable circumstances of grave danger to the Republic or its people,
  • represent the Republic home and abroad and to appoint ambassadors for countries which the Government recognises,
  • appoint Justices of the Supreme Court and the Court of Justice,
  • execute the Constitution and laws passed by Parliament to a degree of care, respect and responsibility, with the help of the Government of the day,
  • implement several decisions via a Presidential Decree, such as to declare national holidays, instruct the executive branch or to bring decisions or proclamations which need to be brought to the attention of the country,
  • appoint a party or coalition which is able to sustain confidence of a majority of members in the House of Representatives into Government, and then appoint the leader of that party or coalition the Prime Minister, the deputy the Deputy Prime Minister, and also to appoint Ministers on the recommendation of the Prime Minister,
  • recommend legislation to be introduced by the Government,
  • declare war and peace via a Presidential Decree, after a vote of two-thirds in both Houses of Parliament,
  • help and assist the Government with the successful administration and running of the state.

List of Presidents

No.
 President Took office Left office Political party Term
 Vice President Election
1 1 November 2013 Incumbent
 Socialist Party 1 Dat Nguyen (until 25 February 2014)
Sam Mathew (from 25 February 2014) 		2013

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