President of Cowell

The **President of Cowell**, officially known as the **President of the Cowellan Democratic Socialist Republic**, is the head of state and the deputy head of government of **Cowell**. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Defence Forces. The President is elected by a direct popular vote. Since the 2020 Federal Constitution has been presented and officially been adopted, the presidential term length was shortened to four years. Since the 2022 referendum was passed, the President has become the deputy head of government, handing the main powers to the revived Prime Minister role.

Jennifer Morgan is the 25th and current president of Cowell, winning the February 2011 snap presidential election.

## Features of the office

### Requirements

The Constitution of 1971 and its 1985 amendment establishes the requirements for becoming president. The president must be a natural-born citizen of the country, or else born overseas when one of his or her parents or grandparents is a Cowellan national. The president must also be at least 25-35 years old. In addition, all the requirements for becoming a Senator apply. The president must meet all the requirements to qualify as a fully Cowellan citizen with the right to vote: they must have reached the age of eighteen years and have never been sentenced to severe punishment, nor lost the right to vote on grounds of insanity, been tried for a crime attracting severe punishment or for terrorist conduct, or condemned by the Constitutional Court under Article 8 of the Constitution.

### Election

A modified two-round system, or ballotage, is used. Like how Argentina's two-round system works, presidential candidates in Magisteria do not need to win a majority of the vote to win the presidency in a single round. In order to win the election in the first round, the winning candidate's party must receive ***either*** more than 45 percent of so-called "positive votes," or *votes positives **or*** at least 40 percent of positive votes ***and*** be more than 10 percentage points ahead of the next most-voted candidate. Positive votes are valid votes cast for any of the candidates, leaving out of the count blank and spoiled ballots.

### Term duration

Under the former Constitution of 1971, the president served for five years, with the possibility of immediate reelection for one more term. In the 1985 amendment, the President need the approval of the Parliament to allow reelection, Baptiste Bradford Vincent Jefferson Harrison, Peter Garrett and Carlos Perlman were, so far, the only four presidents to gain parliamentary approval for a second term.

### Presidential symbols

#### Presidential sash

The presidential sash, used initially by Onésime Thibault, became a symbol of the authority of the first president with the assumption of office by Peter Brady in 1855. It is composed of three stripes with the colors of the Cowellan flag, it is sewn by hand and measured approximately 75 cm long and 13 cm wide.

### Succession

In the case when the president is unable to perform their duties, their powers are usually temporarily transferred to the First Vice President. Snap elections are always held to legitimize the term of the acting president.

## Inauguration

### Inauguration rites

The ceremony since 1973 traditionally begins with the president-elect fetching the incumbent in the Presidential Palace on the morning of November 30. At the Palace's State Entrance, the president-elect will wait for the incumbent to descend the Grand Staircase. Upon meeting at the foot of the staircase, the president-elect would greet the incumbent. As mandated by the Constitution, the president-elect then takes the oath of office at exactly 12:00 PST (GMT-8); in 2013, President-elect Perlman did not await noon, instead taking his oath moments after First Vice-President-elect Eric Simmons and Second Vice-President-elect Elouan Babin finished doing so.

### Ceremonial

#### Oath of office

Under Article VII, Section 4 of the 2021 Constitution, before the president and vice-president can:

*SECTION 4. ...enter on the execution of their office, the President, the Vice-President, or the Acting President shall take the following oath or affirmation:* “I, [full name of the president-elect], promise to preserve, defend and uphold the Constitution, observe the Laws, promote the general welfare of the Cowellan people, and to sustain the union, the integrity and the independence of Cowell"

#### Inaugural address

Every president delivered an inaugural address. Presidents, who became president upon the death of their predecessor, also delivered an address. It is usually delivered after the new president took the oath of office.