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 Sænat fails to do so, on the 15th day after the first ballot, the Sænat 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

If, on the fifteenth day of the election process, the Sænat elects a candidate for prime minister by a plurality of votes instead of a majority, the president may, at their discretion, either name that candidate as prime minister or dissolve the Sænat and call for fresh elections. The president may dissolve the Sænat within 21 days at their discretion if a vote of no confidence is lost in the body and the prime minister suggests dissolving it (Article 58). This authority has only been used once in the Republic's existence as of 2024. The latest instance occurred on March 15, 2022, when Prime Minister Dr. Erwitto Fircenza requested a vote of confidence, an attempt at which was unsuccessful.

Promulgation of the law

The president's signature is required for all federal laws before they become operative. The law may be vetoed by the president if he chooses not to sign it. Although the president has the complete veto power over any legislation in theory, previous presidents have not exercised this prerogative. Generally, the president makes sure that the law was passed in the manner required by the Constitution and/or that its provisions are constitutional. The only times the current president has declined to sign a law are when they had grave concerns about its constitutionality. Additionally, it must be mentioned that the president's initial refusal to sign a bill is not legally a final veto and that they may choose to sign a "vetoed" bill at a later date if, for example, the relevant aspect of the Constitution has changed or if the bill in question has been amended to address his concerns.

Foreign relations

The president represents Eflad throughout the world (Article 45), does overseas visits, and greets international dignitaries. They also sign treaties with foreign countries (which do not take effect until confirmed by the Sænat), accredit Efladian diplomats, and receive letters of accreditation from foreign embassies.

Legislative state of emergency

According to Article 68, if the Sænat rejects a vote of confidence but no new chancellor is chosen or the Sænat is dissolved, the prime minister can proclaim a draft bill "urgent". If the Sænat does not accept the draft, the cabinet may request that the federal president proclaim a "legislative emergency" (Gesetzgebungsnotstand) for the proposed bill. After the president's proclamation, the Sænat has four weeks to review the draft law. If it does not approve it, the cabinet may seek permission from the Federal Council. The proposed bill becomes law after it has received the approval of the Federal Council. There are various limitations to the "legislative emergency". After a president declares a state of emergency for the first time, the government has just six months to apply the procedure for subsequent legislative initiatives. Given the wording of the constitution, it is improbable that the government may implement more than one draft legislation in this manner.

In addition, each plan requires a new declaration of emergency. This implies that during the six-month term, the administration, along with the president and the Federal Council, will not simply replace the Sænat as the legislative body. During the six-month period, the Sænat retains its full legislative authority. If the prime minister's term ends, the state of emergency terminates as well. During the same term and after six months, the prime minister may not employ Article 68 again. A "legislative emergency" was never declared. If there is a substantial dispute between the prime minister and the Sænat, either the prime minister resigns or new elections are held. Article 68 is meant to aid the government for a short length of time, but it should not be used in a crisis for an extended period of time.

Succession

The Constitution did not establish a Vice President, but did designate the President of the Föderales Konzil (by constitutional custom, the head of government of one of the four provinces, elected by the Föderales Konzil in an established sequence of annual alternation) as the Republic's deputy president (Article 45). If the position of president becomes empty, they assume the president's duties on an interim basis until a replacement is chosen. While doing so, they do not continue to hold the position of chair of the Föderales Konzil. If the president is temporarily unable to execute their responsibilities (which occurs regularly, for example, when the president travels overseas on a state visit), they may delegate their authority to the president of the Föderales Konzil.

If the president dies in office, resigns, or is otherwise removed from office, a successor is to be elected within thirty days.

Impeachment

While in office, the president enjoys immunity from prosecution and cannot be voted out of office or recalled. The only mechanism for removing the president is impeachment by the Sænat for willfully violating their official duties. A two-thirds majority is required. Once the Sænat impeaches the president, the Federal Constitutional Court is charged with determining if they are guilty of the offence. If the charge is sustained, the court has the authority to remove the president from office.

Presidential office and symbols

Residences and office

The president's official house is the Orange Palace in Münnen. Although this is the president's formal residence, they do not live at the Orange Palace. Instead, it serves only as a ceremonial office. The president and his spouse reside at a villa in Münnen. The Office of the President (Präsidialamt) is the highest federal authority. It manages the president's work, assists the president in carrying out their obligations as head of state, and coordinates working connections with other branches of the Efladian government and administration. The Head of the President's Office (Chef des Präsidialamts) is the highest-ranking official in the Efladian administration. The office and its personnel advise the president, notify them of all events in internal and foreign affairs, and carry out the president's directives or pass them to the relevant ministry or authority.