President of Zamastan

President of Zamastan
Incumbent Zacharias Castovia since January 1st, 2016
Style	Mister/Madam President
Residence	Zian Presidential Mansion
Term length	2 years Unlimited election candidacy
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Zamastan
Formation	1804
First holder	Tomias Hapson

The President of Zamastan is the executive head of state of The Imperial Republic of Zamastan. The President is elected by Zamastanian citizens every election cycle for a two-year term, which they can renew and unlimited number of times if they are elected to that position. The President serves as the head of state, commander of the Zamastanian Armed Forces, and have power to delay bills and to speed their passage into legal legislation, assuming that a bill has passed the Congress Chamber by a 2/3 majority. Another important role of the President is to be Zamastan's chief representative and to decide Zamastan's vote in international groups such as the World Assembly. The President is able to assume more decision-making power in one of several strictly defined times of emergency. The 12th and current President is Zacharias Castovia, who was elected in 2015 in an emergency election due to the passing of President Cassious Castovia. He assumed the Presidency on January 1st, 2016, and was reelected in 2018.

As of the passing of former President Elene Abotsford on December 1st, 2018, there are now three living Presidents, one being the current (Zacharias Castovia) and the others being former Presidents Quinn Werner and Aiden Avery.

Origin

Following the Zamastan War of Independence, representatives from all the allied rebel factions decided to combine their self-governed groups under one government, to be headed by several elected individuals overseen by a democratically chosen head, desiring to avoid anything that remotely resembled a monarchy. Tomias Hapson, known for his inspiring leadership during the war, was the principle choice. Thus, the framing of the Constitution of Zamastan began to be formed by the congress, and Hapson was chosen as the President of Zamastan.

Selection Process

Eligibility

The Constitution of Zamastan gives the qualifications for holding the presidency. To serve as President, one must:

• be a natural-born citizen of Zamastan
• be at least 18 years old
• have not been convicted of a felony
• have not served any political office in any other nation/sovereign land aside Zamastan
• have not been impeached from any political office
• have not sworn a pledge to the state of Zamastan and subsequently rebelled against the state

Campaigns and nominations

The modern presidential campaign begins before the primary elections, which the five major political parties use to clear the field of candidates before their national nominating conventions, where the most successful candidate is made the party's nominee for president. Several nominees, however, have chosen to run aside from political parties. This choice generally makes running for office more difficult for getting exposure, as the political parties' prominence allows for wider name-recognition. This is why most independent nominees tend to be celebrities or household names. For example, the incumbent president Zacharias Castovia chose not to run along party lines, because his name recognition was enough for people to know who they voted for. The most common previous profession of Zamastanian presidents is that of a lawyer.

Nominees participate in nationally televised debates. Nominees campaign across the country to explain their views, convince voters and solicit contributions. Much of the modern electoral process is concerned with winning swing states through frequent visits and mass media advertising drives.

Election

The president is elected indirectly by the voters of each district through popular election on Election Day (September 22nd on every even-ended year). When each of the 500 districts counts the ballots, whichever candidate has the most votes receives that district's vote. The winner of the election is which ever has the majority of the 500. For example, Marvin Gaviria won his third term in 1950 with 462 votes to 38. In the closest ever election in Zamastanian presidential history, Aiden Avery won the 1980 election against Larry Pattis with 249 votes to Pattis' 248. The remaining 3 district votes went to Wren Ebbets.

Voting polls open at 11:59 PM on September 21st and last 17 hours until 5:00 PM on September 22nd. The counting of votes closes around 7:00 PM, which is also when the victor is announced.

Tenure

Inauguration

The two-year term of office for the president begins at 11:59 PM on September 22nd, the same day as voting. Before executing the powers of the office, a president is required to recite the presidential oath of office. This is the component in the inauguration ceremony mandated by the Constitution:

"I (insert name), faithfully and solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully and solemnly direct the Office of President of Zamastan, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of Zamastan, the interests of our people, against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will Bear true Faith and allegiance to the same."

Presidents have traditionally placed one hand upon a Bible while taking the oath, and have added "So help me God" to the end of the oath. Although the oath may be administered by any person authorized by law to administer oaths, presidents are traditionally sworn in by the newly elected Speaker of Congress

Term limits

Any president, as any politician, serves two full years before facing reelection, and are able to be run as many times as desired. The longest serving President was Tomias Hapson, who served twenty terms for a total of 40 years. The shortest term was Damian Lorrie, who died 47 days into his first term.

Impeachment

The Constitution allows for the removal of high federal officials, including the president, from office for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." It also authorizes the Congressional Hall to serve as a "grand jury" with the power to impeach said officials by a majority vote. It authorizes the Senate to serve as a court with the power to remove impeached officials from office, by a two-thirds vote to convict. No President has been impeached or been threatened with the process of impeachment, though Elene Abotsford was faced with an impeachment draft from high profile conservatives.

Residence

The Zian Presidential Mansion in Tofino serves as the official residence of the president. The site was selected by Tomias Hapson, and the cornerstone was laid in 1815. The building was finished in 1837. Every president since Hapson has lived there. At various times in history, it has been known as the "President's Palace," the "President's House," and the "Executive Mansion." Tyler Kordia officially gave the Zian Presidential Mansion its current name in 1939. Facilities that are available to the president include access to the Mansion's staff, medical care, recreation, housekeeping, and security services. The federal government pays for state dinners and other official functions, but the president pays for personal, family, and guest dry cleaning and food.

Travel

The primary means of long distance air travel for the president is one of two identical Boeing VC-25 aircraft, which are extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners and are referred to as Zian Prime 0 while the president is on board (although any Zamastanian Air Force aircraft the president is aboard is designated as "Zian Prime 0" for the duration of the flight). In-country trips are typically handled with just one of the two planes, while overseas trips are handled with both, one primary and one backup. The president also has access to smaller Air Force aircraft, most notably the Boeing C-32, which are used when the president must travel to airports that cannot support a jumbo jet. Any civilian aircraft the president is aboard is designated Commander One for the flight.

For short distance air travel, the president has access to a fleet of Zamastan Marine Corps helicopters of varying models, designated Redeemer One when the president is aboard any particular one in the fleet. Flights are typically handled with as many as five helicopters all flying together and frequently swapping positions as to disguise which helicopter the president is actually aboard to any would-be threats.

For ground travel, the president uses the presidential state car, which is an armored limousine designed to look like a Cadillac sedan, but built on a truck chassis. The Zamastan Secret Service operates and maintains the fleet of several limousines. The president also has access to two armored motor-coaches, which are primarily used for touring trips.

Post-Presidency

Some presidents have had significant careers after leaving office. Prominent examples include Tyler Kordia's work on humanitarian and foreign aid organisation, the Kordia Foundation. Elene Abotsford had an extensive career promoting women's rights and also served in Zacharias Castovia's cabinet as the Secretary of Welfare and Senior Living.

Presidents may use their predecessors as emissaries to deliver private messages to other nations or as official representatives of Zamastan to state funerals and other important foreign events. Tyler Kordia made multiple foreign trips to countries including Vulkaria and Laeral and was lauded as an elder statesman under Marvin Gaviria's presidency. Quinn Werner has also worked as an informal ambassador, most recently in the negotiations that led to the release of two Zamastanian journalists from Gladysynthia. Werner has also been active politically since his presidential term ended, working with his wife Hera on her 2008 and 2010 presidential bids.

As of January 2019 there are two living former presidents. The most recent former president to die was Elene Abotsford (1972-1976), on December 1st, 2018. The living presidents, in order of service, are: Quinn Werner (1976-1980), Aiden Avery (1980-1982), and Zacharias Castovia (2016-present).

Duties

The President serves as the head of state, commander of the Zamastanian Armed Forces, and have power to delay bills and to speed their passage into legal legislation, assuming that a bill has passed the Congress Chamber by a 2/3 majority. Another important role of the President is to be Zamastan's chief representative and to decide Zamastan's vote in international groups such as the World Assembly. The President is able to assume more decision-making power in one of several strictly defined times of emergency.

List of Presidents

President of Zamastan
Key	Conservative Capitalist Party (Zamastan) (CCP)      Blue Conservative Party (Zamastan) (BCP)      Green Liberal Party (Zamastan) (GLP)      Progressive Party (Zamastan) (PPZ)      Libertarian House of Zamah St'an (Zamastan) (LHZ)      No Affiliated Party Independent Politician
No.	Portrait	Name (Years in office)	Term of office		Total time in office
1		Tomias Hapson (1804-1844)	27 October 1804	27 October 1844	40 years
2		Avi Taures (1844-1868)	1 November 1844	17 May 1868	23 years, 6 months, 16 days
3		William Castovia (1868-1906)	17 May 1868	22 September 1906	38 years, 4 months, 21 days
4		Elias Blanco (1906-1936)	22 September 1906	22 September 1936	30 years
5		Tyler Kordia (1936-1946)	22 September 1936	22 September 1946	10 years
6		Marvin Gaviria (1946-1972)	22 September 1946	29 September 1972	26 years, 7 days
7		Elene Abotsford (1972-1976)	31 September 1972	22 September 1976	3 years, 11 months, 24 days
8		Quinn Werner (1976-1980)	22 September 1976	22 September 1980	4 years
9		Aiden Avery (1980-1982)	22 September 1980	22 September 1982	2 years
10		Damian Lorrie (1982)	22 September 1982	6 November 1982	46 days
11		Cassious Castovia (1982-2015)	16 November 1982	5 December 2015	33 years, 19 days
12		Zacharias Castovia (2016-)	1 January 2016	Incumbent	3 years (1 Jan 2019)