CoL amendment proposal - What to do if the Presidency is Vacant

[Bootstoots]

I was reading through the Code of Laws today and stumbled on something interesting and potentially troublesome. Though a citizen can be appointed President by the Senate if the office is vacant at the beginning of an election cycle, mid-term Presidential vacancies are not covered by that article. To prevent such an occurrance, I propose amendments to a pair of CoL sections, allowing for mid-term Senatorial election of a President and allowing the Vice President to become President automatically if the Presidency becomes vacant.

Here is the text of my proposal. Additions are bolded, deletions are stricken out.

Section F.1 Senatorial Election of a President
The Senate is responsible for choosing a citizen to serve as President if an election cycle completes with nobody elected to the office of President the Presidency is Vacant and no deputy exists to assume the office. A Senator will create a thread for interested citizens to post in, and be questioned by the Senate. 3 days after the creation of this thread, the Senate will vote amongst all interested Candidates via Private Message to the Chief Justice or a Moderator. The citizen receiving the most votes is elected President. If more than one citizen ties, a run-off election will be held between only those citizens.

Section H.4 Vacancies
The President will appoint a citizen to any Vacant office. If a deputy exists for that office, the President must offer the appointment to that citizen. This appointment may be challenged by any citizen posting a confirmation poll within 24 hours of the appointment.

If the Presidency becomes Vacant, the President’s deputy, if applicable, shall immediately assume the office of President. This may be challenged by a confirmation poll in the same manner as a Presidential appointment.

If an elected official does not post in the DG forums in 7 days without prior notice, any citizen may request the Judiciary to investigate. The Judiciary, by a majority vote, may declare the office Vacant at the conclusion of the investigation.​

 

[DaveShack]

I agree with these changes, good catch!

 

[Donovan Zoi]

Since we are putting this up for poll soon, I have a couple of questions:

---> Who should be charged with running the nation if there is no President or deputy (Vice-President)? I would assume it would be one of the ministers (Foreign or Defense preferred).

---> Should we just bite the bullet and finally label the deputy to the President as "Vice President?" If we are going to give this position the power to succeed a vacant presidency, then it should be named accordingly.

 

[mhcarver]

question, shall the runoff from a senate vote be decided by the senators or the house of people?

 

[Bootstoots]

Here's a new version of my proposed amendments, targeted to cover the points raised by DZ. The primary change is the addition of an Acting President to run Fanatikos if the Presidency is vacant, using the same chain of command that is used for absent DP's (Foreign Affairs, Defense, Trade and Technology). All citizens, please review these amendments and see if you approve of them. Comments are welcome.

Section F.1 Senatorial Election of a President
The Senate is responsible for choosing a citizen to serve as President if an election cycle completes with nobody elected to the office of President both the Presidency and the Vice Presidency are Vacant. A Senator will create a thread for interested citizens to post in, and be questioned by the Senate. 3 days after the creation of this thread, the Senate will vote amongst all interested Candidates via Private Message to the Chief Justice or a Moderator. The citizen receiving the most votes is elected President. If more than one citizen ties, a run-off election will be held between only those citizens.


Section H.3 Deputies
All Executive and Governor positions will have a deputy. The Deputy is permitted to conduct the affairs of the office as directed by the elected official, or during a planned Absence of the elected official. If no instructions have been posted for an office within 24 hours of the upcoming Game Session, the deputy for that office may post the official instructions for the office.

The President's deputy shall be termed the Vice President.

The Judiciary does not use deputies. In the event of an Absence, a pro-tem justice(s) may be appointed by the Chief Justice (or Judge Advocate if the Chief Justice if absent) and confirmed by the President and the remaining justice if not also absent.

If both the Chief Justice and the Judge Advocate are absent, the Public Defender may appoint pro-tems to the other seats, with Presidential approval.


Section H.4 Vacancies
The President will appoint a citizen to any Vacant office. If a deputy exists for that office, the President must offer the appointment to that citizen. This appointment may be challenged by any citizen posting a confirmation poll within 24 hours of the appointment.

If the Presidency becomes Vacant, the Vice President, if applicable, shall immediately assume the office of President. This may be challenged by a confirmation poll in the same manner as a Presidential appointment. If there is neither a President nor a Vice President, Fanatikos shall be led temporarily by an Acting President, who shall be empowered to perform all duties of the Presidency until a new President is chosen. The Acting President shall be chosen from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defense, or the Minister of Trade and Technology, in that order.

If an elected official does not post in the DG forums in 7 days without prior notice, any citizen may request the Judiciary to investigate. The Judiciary, by a majority vote, may declare the office Vacant at the conclusion of the investigation.​