President of Eflad (Pacifica)

The president of Eflad, officially titled the President of the Republic (Efladian Alman: Präsident der Republik), is the head of state of Eflad.

The role has been established under the 1952 constitution (Section V) under which Eflad has a parliamentary system of government in which the Prime Minister is the head of government. The president has a ceremonial role figurehead, but also has the right and duty to act politically. They can give direction to general political and societal debates and have some important "reserve powers" in case of political instability (such as those provided for by Article 68 of the constitution). The Efladian presidents, who can be elected to two consecutive five-year terms, have wide discretion about how they exercise their official duties.

Under Article 45 (2) of the Constitution, the president represents the Republic of Eflad in matters of international law, concludes treaties with foreign states on its behalf and accredits diplomats. Furthermore, all federal laws must be signed by the president before they can come into effect; presidents may veto a law if they believe it to violate the constitution, this is know as "countersignature" (Article 69).

The president's acts and public appearances reflect the state, its existence, legitimacy, and unity. The president has a higher status at official functions than the prime minister. The president's role is integrative, with the control function of upholding the law and the constitution. The president normally does not comment on problems in the headlines on a regular basis, which is due to political tradition rather than constitutional restrictions. This is especially true when political parties are at odds. Because of his detachment from every day politics and matters of government, the president is able to provide explanation, influence public discourse, voice criticism, make comments, and propose solutions. To use this power, they have traditionally acted above party politics.

The current officeholder is Dr. Gerno Efæn who was elected on 16 November 2017 and re-elected on 24 September 2022. He is currently serving his second five-year-term.

Election

Main article: Föderales Forum (Pacifica)

The president is elected for a term of five years by secret ballot, without debate, by a specially convened Föderales Forum (Federal Forum) which mirrors the aggregated majority position in the Sænat (the federal parliament) and in the parliaments of the 4 Efladian provinces. The convention consists of all Sænat members, as well as an equal number of electors elected by the state legislatures in proportion to their respective populations. It is not required that state electors are chosen from the members of the state legislature; often some prominent citizens are chosen.

The Efladian constitution requires that the convention be convened no later than 30 days before the scheduled expiry of the sitting president's term or 30 days after a premature expiry of a president's term. The body is convened and chaired by the President of the Sænat in agreement with the President of the Föderales Konzil. In the first round of the election, the candidate who achieves an absolute majority is elected. If no single candidate has received this level of support only the three candidates who received the most votes in the first ballot shall be admitted to the second ballot. In the second and final vote the candidate who wins a plurality of votes cast is elected. The result of the election is often determined by party politics. In most cases, the candidate of the majority party or coalition in the Sænat is considered to be the likely winner. Because the party politics, at least on a national level, were dominated by the socialists and technocrats until recently, all presidents reflected this dynamic.

Qualifications

The office of president is open to all Efladians who are entitled to vote in Sænat elections and have reached the age of 40, but no one may serve more than two consecutive five-year terms. The president must not be a member of the federal government or of a legislature at either the federal or state level and may not hold any other salaried office, trade or profession and may not be a member of the board of directors or supervisory board of any company.

Oath

After taking office the president must take the following oath, stipulated by Article 48 of the Constitution, in a joint session of the Sænat and the Föderales Konzil (it is the only event that demands such a joint session constitutionally). The religious references may optionally be added.

I swear that I will devote my strength to the welfare of the people, uphold and defend the law and justice of the Republic, fulfil my duties conscientiously and do justice to everyone. (So help me God.)

Efladian constitutional law does not consider oaths of office as constitutive but only as affirmative. This means that the president does not have to take the oath at the moment of entering office in order to be able to exercise its constitutional powers. In practice, the oath is usually administered during the first days or weeks of a president's term on a date convenient for a joint session of the Sænat and the Föderales Konzil. Nevertheless, in theory a persistent refusal to take the oath is considered to be an impeachable offence by legal scholars. If a president is re-elected for a second consecutive term, he does not take the oath again.

Duties and competences

The president is involved in the formation of the Federal Government and remains in close cooperation with it. Basically, the president is free to act on his own discretion. However, according to Article 49 of the Efladian constitution, the decrees, and directives of the president require the countersignature of the prime minister or the corresponding federal minister in charge of the respective field of politics. There is no need for a countersignature if the president proposes, appoints, or dismisses the prime minister; convenes or dissolves the Sænat according to Article 52; declares a legislative state of emergency or calls on a prime minister and ministers to remain in office after the end of a prime minister's term until a successor is elected - as these are exclusive powers of the president.

Therefore, the president also receives the prime minister regularly for talks on current policy issues. Efladian presidents also hold talks with individual federal ministers and other senior officials at their own discretion. The "Head of the Office of the President" represents the will and views of the president in the meetings of the Federal Cabinet and reports back to the president.

The president's most prominent powers and duties include:

• Proposing the prime minister to the Sænat
• Appointing and dismissing the prime minister and their cabinet ministers
• Dissolving the Sænat under certain circumstances
• Declaring the legislative state of emergency under certain circumstances
• Convening the Sænat
• Signing and promulgating laws or vetoing them under certain circumstances
• Appointing and dismissing the federal judges, the Attorney General, and the members of the State Bank and the Court of Audit
• Awarding honors on behalf of the Federation
• Representing Eflad at home and abroad

Appointment of the government

When a new Sænat is elected, the prime minister's term ends. If the position becomes vacant due to death or resignation, the president proposes a candidate for prime minister. If the candidate is elected by a majority of the current Sænat members on the first ballot, the president appoints the candidate to office. The Sænat has the option to reject the president's proposal, which has never happened as of 2024. In this event, the parliament must nominate another individual within 14 days, whom the parties in the Sænat now choose themselves. The president is then required to appoint them. If the Saenat fails to do so, on the 15th day after the first ballot, the Saenat must have a final ballot: if an individual is elected, the president is also required to appoint the chosen candidate. If there is no clear consensus, the president can choose the man with the most votes on the last ballot as prime minister or dissolve the Sænat. The president may dismiss the prime minister only if the Sænat approves a constructive vote of no confidence and elects a new prime minister simultaneously. If so, the president must dismiss the prime minister and appoint the successor chosen by the Sænat.

The president also chooses and dismisses the remaining members of the federal government, as proposed by the prime minister. This theoretically means that the president can appoint only the candidates proposed by the Prime Minister. It is uncertain if the president may refuse to remove or appoint a proposed federal minister, given no president has until now done so.

In actuality, the president only offers a prime minister who has previously received a majority of support in preceding coalition talks, and he does not meddle in those discussions.

Dissolution of the Sænat

In case the Sænat elects an individual for the office of prime minister by a plurality of votes, rather than a majority, on the 15th day of the election process, the president can, at their discretion, either appoint that individual as prime minister or dissolve the Bundestag, triggering a new election. If a vote of confidence is defeated in the Sænat, and the incumbent prime minister proposes a dissolution, then the president may, at their discretion, dissolve the body within 21 days (Article 58). As of 2024, this power has only been applied once in the history of the Republic. The most recent occurrence was on 15 March 2022, when Prime Minister Dr. Erwitto Fircenza asked for a vote of confidence, which was defeated.