CHAPTER ONE
Introduction:
Constitutionally speaking, a leaned
gentle man cannot discuss or through light on history of presidential system of
government without stating the meaning of the above term. From the above
premises it is imperative to ascertain the meaning or presidential system of
government.
A system of government where an executive branch is
led by a president who serves as both head of state and head of
government.
We
cannot proceed with out discussion without categorically stating when and how
the presidential system of government was put to birth. In fact, the
presidential system of government was not healed until 1787. it was said that,
The Delegates of constitutional convention of 1787
favored a multiple executive, in which power would be exercised simultaneously
by three or more individuals. Others insisted to limiting the presidential to
single term of seen years or to two three- years’ terms[2].
According to Otis, where he opined that:
The Pramers not only vested power in a single
executive, elected for a term or four years, but also refused to limit the
number of terms the president might serve. he further added that, Washington,
as the first president displayed both the leadership and self restraint that
the American people expected. He established an important precedent by refusing
to seek a third term, a tradition that survived until Frankin D. Roose velt was
elected to a third term in 1940, followed by a birth term in 1944.[3]
Consequently,
in is pertinent to note that the presidential system or government in America
introduce a system known as Electoral College. This is a system where election
to the presidential sit is conducted indirectly.
According
to Otis, he said:
Under this arrangement (i.e electoral college), each
state was authorized to appoint as many electors as it had senators and
representatives in congress. This was boldly provide.
In
Article 11, section I of American
Constitution of 1779. this electorl college, as it came to be called was
empowered to chose the president, and the person receiving the second highest
number of votes would serve as vice president. The drafters assumed that the
electors would act independently of the people in making their selections. But
with the advent of the two-arty system in the late 197os the electors soon lost
this independent lole”.
Aptly speaking, this quite different
form what is obtainable in most of the African country that is operating
presidential system e.g in Nigeria the president is usually elected
independently in that for office of the president is open for interested
parties for contest.
In 1804 the united state of America
modify the structure and method of electing the president. In the new system
the president now develop its presidential and vice president ticket.
An erudite author had emphatically
stated that;
Although
the electoral college has lost
CHAPTER TWO
2.1 Introduction
The presidential system of
government emanated from united state of America. This type of system
government had never been practice any where across the globe. “It was in the
year 1789 that the above system of government came into American political
history.
According
to Otis1 who
stated that ;
It was on 1787 that the constitution executive, in
which power would be exercised simultaneously by three or more individual. But,
others insisted on limiting the president to a single term of seven years or to
two three year terms. Others maintained that the president, in correct with the
Supreme Court, should functions as a “council of revision”, which would in
effect pass on the constitutionality of acts of congress.
The
presidential system of government is not term the president was meant to spent
in office was equivocally stated.
According
to Otis, who was of the view that2
The framers of the presidential constitution not only
vested power in a single executive, elected for a term of your years, but also
refused to limit the number of terms the president serve.
As
infant in presidential system of government, they were with some challenges.
Not wit standing that Americans were the originator of presidential system of
government, but the drafters of the resuscitation rails to state in a precise manner
term of office a president was meant to spent in office. The above ascertain
will not make meaning it we fall to buttress the point.
According
to Otis3 where we opined thus:
Washington,
as the first president, displayed both the leadership and self restraint that
the American people erected. He established an important precedent by refusing
to seek a third term, a tradition that survived until Franklin D. Rraleselt was
elected to a third term in 1940, followed by a burgh in 1944. Rraleselt died in
office in 1945, and the Republican Party gained control of both houses of
congress after the 1946 elections. Reacting to Roosevelt’s break with tradition
congress then proposed the twenty- second amendment, ratified in 1951,
prohibiting future presidents from being elected to more than two terms. In the
aftermath of Ronald Rezyans popular first term and landslide re-election in
1984, some political activities begun to urge i.e peal of the twenty-second
amendment.
In early American presidential independent
office of the president is usually
occupy by appointment.
The duration of the constitution
crouched constitution in a way that the office of the president and some other
vital offices is conducted through the body known as electoral collage.
According to Otis on constitutional
law, where he unequivocally opined thus:
Under this arrangement, each state was authorized to
appoint as many elector as it had senators and representatives in congress Article I section.
On important thing to note is that,
during the early era off presidential in America the office of the president
vice-president were tied. The above illustration was demonstrated during the
presidential election of 18000 where Thomas Jefferson and his running mate Aaron
Burr vied for the presidential sit with single ticket4.
2.2 General Overview of Presidential System
of Government in United State of America
Constitutionally speaking, the
constitution of United State of America has in unequivocally term provided for
three branches of government the said constitution provides thus:
All
legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a congress of the United
States, which shall consist of a senate and House of Representatives5. On the other hand, the executive power
shall be vested in president of the United States of America.6 In the same vein, the Judiciary power
of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such
inferior courts as the congress may form time to ordained establish.7
It is pertinent to note that the
constitution of United State of America being the presidential one has six
foundational principles and they are as follows:
(a) Popular sovereignty I what this entail is
that the sovereignty and belief stems form the concept of the social contract
and the rights of its citizens. If the government is not protecting the
properties of its citizen that means that the principle is diminish.
(b) Limited Government: since the people give
government respect given to it by them. In other worlds, the US government has
its own Law and it can only using powers given to it.
(c) Separation of powers: As stated
previously the US government has three branch bruit one branch has all the
power. Each branch has its own purpose. To make the laws, execute the law and
to interpret the Law.
(d) Checks and balances: In order to further
protect the citizens, the constitution set up a system where by the government
has a certain number of checks it can use to ensure the other branches do not
behave contrary to the provision of the Law or veto legislation, the supreme
Court can declare acts of congress un-constitutional, and the senate
appointments.
(e) Judicial review: this is a power that
allows the supreme court to decide whether acts and cases decided by the lower
court are wrongly or rightly enacted or decided. Similar decision was reaches in the case of Marbury v. Madison8.
(f) Federalism: One of the most complicated
foundation of the US is the principle of Federalism which control all the power
in the nation. States also have powers it reserved to them. This division of
the problem such as what happened with the response to Hurricane Katrina
between the state and the people9.
One the other hand, just as most of
the country that operates presidential system of government adopt multiparty
system, American constitution boldly provided for two party systems. This does
not means that in the subsequent time they cannot increase it to four of three
through amendment process.
Note
that the two parties are republican parities which act as coalitions and
attempt to win elections.
Consequently, it sis imperative to
note that the presidential system of government AU over the world has similar
structure and ingredients. One of the creatures of presidential system of
government is electoral system in that the president and elected officers of
the government usually come into power through electoral process. This means
that to become a president under presidential system n government is not by appointment
rather by free and fair election. When the president is saw himself through to
the office by ringing, the court will in most cases decline such election null
and ibid.
In Bush v. Gore,10 531 U.S 98(2000), thesis the United
states supreme court decision that effectively resolved the dispute surrounding
the 2000 presidential election in favour of George W.Bush. only eight days
earlier, the United states supreme cont had unanimously decided the closely
related case of bush v. Palm Beach county canvassing board, 531 U.S 70 (2000)
and only three day earlier had preliminarily halted the recount that was
occurring in Florida.
In per incuriam decision, the court
ruled that the Florida Supreme Courts method for recounting ballots was a
violation of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. The
reason for this was the lack of equal treatment of all the ballots cast in
Florida. The could be established within the time limits set as to appointments
of electors which is December interpreting Florida election law that had been
enacted by Florida legislature
The decision allowed Florida
secretary of State Katherine Harris previous certification of George w. bush as
the winner of Florida’s 25 electoral votes one more than the required 270
electoral votes to win the Electoral college and defeat democratic candidate Al
gove who record 266 electoral votes ca district of Columbia elector abstained)
High controversial, the decision
itself stated it was limited to present circumstances craisn crics the
conservative majority of simply placing a winner rather than relying on sound
jurisprudence.
In 2001, a consortium of news
organization assisted by professional statisticians (NORC) examined numerous
hypothetical ways of the counting all the florid ballots. The stud was
conducted over period of 10 months. The consortium examined 175,010 ballots
vote that counting machines had rejected. Under some methods AL score would
have emerged the winner, in others, gorge W. bush. But in each one, the margin of victory was smaller than
537 vote lead that state election officials ultimately Bush would have kept his
lead, according to the ballor review conducted by the consortium. If floridas
67 countries had carried out the hand recount of disputed ballots ordered by the
florid supreme court on December 8, apply the standards that election officials
said they would have used” Bush would have emerged the victor by 493 votes (1)
(2).
With the above analysis it is save
to day that even in America the presidential election will art be said to be
free and fair not withstanding that have
practice this of system of government for detate. The above analysis shall that
no body knows the number of the bush actually used to defeat Al Gore
On the other hand, it is pertinent
to note the following point about the presidential system of government in
United State of America.
1. Unlike before the president of America
has a fixed form of office. For the term
of office of American president see article II section I23 Election are held at scheduled
times and cannot be triggered by a vote of confidence or other such
parliamentary procedures. On the other hand, in special circumstances an
American president may be impeached and remove form office. In American the
legislature had successful impeached two serving president, but were unable to
remove them form office. The two president Bil Anton in 2008 and John_____ in
1968 they were examinated by the senate.
2. Eligibility: The constitution of the United State of America has
stated unequivocally that,
No person except a national born citizen of the united
states, at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall be eligible to
the office of president; neither shall any person be eligible to that office
who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five years, and been fourteen
years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States24.
Critical
perusal of the above provision it my lead one to conclusion that a person who
is not a natural born of United State of America and who has not stayed up to
fourteen years in America cannot vote for presidential post in United State of
America.
3. The executive branch is un-personal.
Members of the cabinet serve at the pleasure of the head of state and must
carry out the policies of the executive and legislative branches. However,
presidential system frequently require legislative approval of executive
nominations to the cabinet as well as various governmental posts such as
Judges. A presidential leader generally has power to direct members of the
cabinet, military of any officer or employee of the executive branch, generally
no power to dismiss or give orders to judges.
4. The power to pardon or commute
sentences of convicted criminals is often in the lands of the head of state are
not the exclusive users of he title of president or the republican form of
government.
5. The president power to make appointment:
the president shall with the advice and consent of the senate appoint
ambassadors, other pubic ministers and counsels, Judges of the supreme count
and all other officers of the United States, whose appointment are not herein
otherwise provided for and which shall be established by Law. See
Article II section 2 of United state constitution of 1979.
Duties of the president of the United
states of America:
The president of United State of
Amarka is charged with the following duties:
1. The president shall form time to time
give to the congress information of the state or union and recommend to their
consideration such measures as be shall judge necessary and expedient25
2. He may on extract ordinary occasions,
convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between
them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn to such time as
he shall think proper;
3. He shall receive ambassadors and other
public ministers
4. He shall take care that laws be
faithfully executed and commission all the officers of the United States.
Removal of president form office
The president of united state or
America will be remove from office in with the provision or the constitution.
This means that the president of United State of America enjoys constitutional
protection, unlike other executions officers who are occupying appointment
offices.
In fact, Article II, Section 40 US
constitution boldly spelt out procedure for impeachment (i.e impeachment of the
president) According to the above section which provides as follow:
The
president, vice-president and all civil officers of the United states shall be
removed form office on impeachment for, and conviction of treason, Bribery or
other high crimes and misdemeanors.
The simply means that the president
of United state of America will be remove form office any time he found usually
in any of the above offence.
Presidential Powers
Power
of impoundment
The first question one might ask is,
what is impoundment?
The term “impoundment” has been
definer in blacks Law Dictionary at page 772 as;
The president’s refusal to spend funds appropriated by
congress. Although not authorized by the constitution and seldom used, the
impoundment power effectuality gives the executive branch a line-items veto
over legislative spending.
Having ascertained the meaning of
impoundment, it is imperative to state that in America there what is known as power
or impoundment which is vested both pediment of the country.
According to Ohis H. Stephen who was
of view;
That
this is the power of the president to refuse to allow expenditure of funds
appropriated by congress. He further said that, this first look place in 1803,
who president Jefferson with held $50, ooo that congress had allocated to build
fun boat, to defend the Mississippi river. Jeffersorts pur pose was merely to
delay the expenditure, primarily because the Louisiana purchase, which was
transacte shortly after congress appropriated the money for gun Missisippi.
This statutory backup in that
26 Blocks
Law Dictionary Eight Edition (2004) at page 772.
The president was given limited power of impoundment
to avoid departmental defeats.
[1] On line
Wilkpedia, the free encycbpedin, Article published on (November 2010)
[2] Otis H.
Stephens and John M. Scheb II C(University of a Tennessee, Kno xuike, American
Constitutional Law, Third Edition p. 164.
[3] Otis H.
Stephens J. and John law United state of American, Thomson learning p. 165.
1 Otis H.
Stephens, JR and John M. Scheb II, American constitutional Law United State of
American, Nelson Thomson Learning p. 164.
2 Otis H.
Stephen’s p. 165
3 Otis H.
Stephens, JR and John M. Scheb II, American constitutional Law United State of
American, Nelson Thomson Learning p. 165.
4 Otis H.
Stephens, JR and John M. Scheb II, American constitutional Law United State of
American, Nelson Thomson Learning p. 165.
5 Article I,
section 1 of the constitution of the United States of America 1787.
6 Article II
section I of the Constitution of the United State of American 1779.
7 Article
III, section I of the United state of America 1779
8 Marbury v.
Madison 1803 or
see querview of United States Government and politics, Foundation and
principles by Martin really, About comguide
9 Over view
of United states
government and politics, foundation amprinaplas, by martin Kelly, about.com
guide
10
23 Article
II, Sections I of the Constitution of United State of America
24 Article
II, Section I of the Constitution of the
United of America.
25 ArticleII, Section 3 paragraph(a) of 1979Constitution of the United of America.