Politics of Lenapore
The politics of Lenapore takes the form of a parliamentary representative democratic republic whereby the President of Lenapore is the head of state, the Prime Minister of Lenapore is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the cabinet from the parliament, and to a lesser extent, the President. Cabinet has the general direction and control of the Government and is accountable to Parliament. There are three separate branches of government: the legislature, executive and judiciary, though not necessarily meaning that there is a separation of power, but abiding by the Westminster and State Control systems.
Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Lenapore. The legislature is the parliament, which consists of the president as its head and a single chamber whose members are elected by popular vote. The role of the president as the head of state has been, historically, largely ceremonial although the constitution was amended in 1991 to give the president some veto powers in a few key decisions such as the use of the national reserves and the appointment of key judiciary, Civil Service and Lenapore Armed Forces posts. They also exercise powers over civil service appointments and national security matters.
Political background[edit | edit source]
Lenaporean politics have been dominated by the Eastern Democrats' Party (EDP) since the 1994 general election. When Lenapore gained self-governance in 1956 while under joint colonial control of Nashland and the Michillies, the People's Action Party was the leading party, and has remained this way until 1994.
Lenapore has consistently been rated as the least-corrupt country in Asia and amongst the top ten cleanest in the world by Transparency International. The World Bank's governance indicators have also rated Singapore highly on rule of law, control of corruption and government effectiveness. Since 1984, but especially since the 1994 reforms, political and human rights have been considered "free", and this is justified due to coverage on the so-called "free press" (any newspaper not contorlled by LPH). Radio and television, however, are still under some restrictions regarding political coverage.
Executive[edit | edit source]
- He or she must not be a member of any political party on the date of his or her nomination for election.
- He or she must have for a period of not less than three years held office —
- as Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker, Attorney-General, Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Auditor-General, Accountant-General or Permanent Secretary;
- as chief executive officer (CEO) of a key statutory board or government company: the Central Provident Fund Board, the Housing and Development Board, the Jurong Town Corporation, the Monetary Authority of Lenapore, Temasek Holdings, or GIC Private Limited (formerly known as the Government of Lenapore Investment Corporation);
- as CEO of a company with an average of $500 million in shareholders' equity for the most recent three years in that office, and which is profitable after taxes; or
- in any other similar or comparable position of seniority and responsibility in any other organisation or department of equivalent size or complexity in the public or private sector which has given him such experience and ability in administering and managing financial affairs as to enable him to carry out effectively the functions and duties of the office of President.
The president now exercises powers over the following:
- appointment of public officers
- government budgets
- examine government's exercise of its powers under the Internal Security Act
- examine government's exercise of its powers under religious harmony laws
- investigations into cases of corruption
However, the president must consult the Council of Presidential Advisers before he takes a decision on some of these matters. The council comprises:
- two members appointed at the personal discretion of the president
- two members appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister
- one member appointed by the president on the advice of the chief justice
- one member appointed by the president on the advice of the chairman of the Public Service Commission
A member of the council serves a six-year term and are eligible for re-appointment for further terms of four years each.
Similar to the Speech from the Throne given by the heads of state in other parliamentary systems, the president delivers an address written by the government at the opening of parliament about what kind of policies to expect in the coming year. The current president is Stuart Yamanashi.
