Valruzia

[Aethan]

President Pietrzyk aims to reform the election of the Head of State

The President announces the first use of the Constitutional Law on Referenda to change the system to elect the President

December 5636

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During her New Year's Eve speech, President Karolina Pietrzyk has announced that she will seek to reform the election system of the Head of State during next year, willing to put into use the Part X of the Valruzian Consitution, which gives the President the authority over the so-called "Presidential plebiscites". As the Article goes:

"The Presidential plebiscities is one of the powers vested exclusively in the figure of the President of Valruzia that the Government has no power or veto over, and allows the President to interfere within the legislative and the Executive, putting the matter in question directly in the hands of the citizens. The process for the Presidential Plebiscite is as follows: the President may initiate it after informing the Sejm, and may be organized on any topic, but may not contradict the rights and freedoms of Valruzian citizens as established by the Bill of Rights of the Republic. As an act of secondary legislation, this Plebiscite may be subject to judicial review by the Constitutional Court and may be overturned if found to be in violation of the Constitution or international treaties. It shall not carry the force of law until it is implemented as legislation by the Sejm, although the Sejm is not obliged to implement the results of the Plebiscite into law if a negative verdict is issued by the Constitutional Court. If they emit a positive verdict, the Sejm is obliged to implement it. The Plebiscite must be organized concurrently with the first general election after the initiation of the Plebiscite. Should a general election take place less than a year after the initiation of the Plebiscite, the Plebiscite shall be organized concurrently with the following general election."

The proposal that President Pietrzyk aims to approve sets an intermediate step before citizens vote for the President, and contemplates the creation of new figures, the five "Voivodeship General Councils". But what is the reform proposed by President Pietrzyk?

These Voivodeship General Councils would be established in each Voivodeship of Valruzia, therefore making a total of 5 Councils. Each Council shall be composed by 400 members, distributed in the following way: 250 citizens (62.5%) elected by draw, with a term duration of 2 years; 110 deputies (27.5%) elected by draw from those represented in the regional parliament, with a term length of 5 years (by defect, renewed after each election); and 10 (2.5%) magistrates, 10 trade union members, 10 members of the military and 10 National Award recipients, with a term length of 5 years. The positions would not be paid if the elected members already have a job, but will be remunerated for those who do not have any other source of income, if elected, as these positions would only have to convene a few times a year if at all. According to internal sources, Chancellor Nowik has accepted this proposal under the condition that those elected cannot refuse to serve - in line with what Sovereign Valruzia defends as every citizen's duty with their nation. 



At times when there is a Head of State in place, these five General Councils would serve merely as an advisory body to the President, being convened by them when needed, but their main role would be when the seat of President becomes vacant: there is where the major change proposed by President Pietrzyk comes. 

Elections for the President would no longer be a direct vote of the citizens, but first everyone who wishes to become President shall submit their candidacy to their regional General Council. Among all those who have submitted their candidacy and fulfill the basic requirements - namely age and citizenship - the regional General Council will start a series of votings until they have reached a candidate with 70% of support (281 votes). When all five regions have chosen a candidate - 5 in total -, all of them will be presented to the citizens, which would then be able to elect their new President among them. During that time of events, as it would become a full-time consuming job, those members of the General Council would be granted a job leave and another income supplement.

The other profound change that would be implemented is that the position would have longer terms - currently it lasts for renewable 6-year terms -, as Pietrzyk aims for the elected President to be in place for 10 years.

"The role of President is a serious one" declared Pietrzyk "it is not just becoming electing by the people, but making sure and know you are the embodiment of the nation. It is something you shall not take lightly".

Now, President Pietrzyk has to come up with the proposal to the Valruzian Sejm, which shall set a date for the Plebiscite. Concurrently, she has to place the proposal in the hands of the Constitutional Court, which shall review it and confirm that it does not contradict the Valruzian Constitution. If the plebiscite is approved by the citizens (single majority) and the Consitutional Court, the Valruzian Sejm would then be required to implement it.

According to flash polls carried out after the announcement, most Valruzian citizens are still confused about how the system would work, so it is likely that President Pietrzyk would make more public appearances to explain her proposal before moving it to a vote.

Chancellor Szymon Nowik has declared that he is in favor of the reform as it aligns with his personal views on how citizens should become actively involved in day-to-day politics, but that his party and the government will carefully study the proposal before officially backing it before the plebiscite takes place. Others, such as far-right Valruzian Alliance, fear that the proposal would turn the Presidency into an "elite-based appointment" and "performative nonsense" which would ban "popular yet outside candidates" to run for the office. Pietrzyk's own party, the Communist Party of Valruzia, has also expressed their skepticism in the proposal, saying that they "fail to see" why this system is an improvement of the directly-elected presidential system currently in place.