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Presidential Term Limits Constitutional Amendment, 1750

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Presidential Term Limits Constitutional Amendment, 1750

12th Cortes Federales
Long title An Act to amend the Proclamation of Punta Santiago to establish a limit of two terms for any person serving as President of the Government of Nouvelle Alexandrie; to define what constitutes a term for the purpose of this limitation; to provide for transitional arrangements; among other purposes.
Bill Number FA-1750-031
Introduced by Gary Wilson-Clarke, Deputy for South Lyrica
Extent Entire Federation of Nouvelle Alexandrie
Dates
Bill Status Proposed
Other legislation
Related legislation

The Presidential Term Limits Constitutional Amendment, 1750 (Alexandrian: Amendement constitutionnel sur la limitation des mandats du Premier ministre, 1750; Martino: Enmienda Constitucional de Limitacion de Mandatos del Presidente del Gobierno, 1750; Wechua: Hatun Kamachiq Watankunap Sayasqa Kamachiynin, 1750) is proposed legislation of Nouvelle Alexandrie that would amend the Proclamation of Punta Santiago to prohibit any person from serving more than two terms as President of the Government. The amendment would insert a new Article 31 into the Proclamation, immediately following the existing Article 30 governing the appointment of the Premier, and renumber all subsequent articles accordingly.

The legislation was introduced by Gary Wilson-Clarke, the AJNA Parliamentary Chairperson and Deputy for South Lyrica, on 12.III.1750 AN. It was co-sponsored by 47 opposition deputies drawn from the Democratic Socialist Party, the Wakara People's Party, and the Federal Consensus Party. The bill is currently under review by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs.

As a constitutional amendment, the bill requires a two-thirds majority in the Federal Assembly to pass, per Article 56 of the Proclamation. The governing Federal Humanist Party and its Civic Governance Alliance allies hold 376 of 749 seats. Passage would require at least 124 government deputies to break ranks, a prospect most analysts consider unlikely in the current Federal Assembly.

Background

Main article: Proclamation of Punta Santiago

The Proclamation of Punta Santiago, ratified in 1685 AN and revised at the 1693 Constitutional Convention, places no limit on the number of terms a President of the Government may serve. Article 30 provides only that the Premier is appointed by H.M. the King upon commanding a majority in the Federal Assembly, and may be removed by a motion of no-confidence. No provision addresses consecutive service or lifetime limits.

In practice, four of the twelve Premiers who have served since the Federation's founding held office for ten or more consecutive years. Felipe de Almagro served from 1708 AN to 1718 AN, Paolo Antonio Aguilar from 1718 AN to 1729 AN, Marissa Santini from 1729 AN to 1739 AN, and Juan Pablo Jimenez from 1739 AN to 1749 AN. Each served two full five-year terms. Aguilar served slightly beyond ten years due to the timing of government formation following the 1729 general election. Jimenez withdrew from seeking a third term voluntarily, citing the need for "new energy" in a speech from Government House in VI.1749 AN.

The absence of constitutional term limits became a subject of sustained public debate during the 1749 general election campaign. Opposition parties argued that prolonged single-party governance under the Federal Humanist Party, which had held power continuously since 1739 AN, eroded institutional checks and concentrated authority in the executive. The Alliance for a Just Nouvelle Alexandrie and the Federal Consensus Party both included term limit proposals in their election platforms.

Polling by the Institute of Public Opinion conducted in VIII.1749 AN found that 61% of New Alexandrians supported a constitutional limit on the number of terms a Premier could serve. Support was highest among voters under 40 (72%) and in regions where opposition parties performed best, including Valencia, New Luthoria, and Boriquen.

The Congress for Constitutional Amendments, a non-partisan political pressure group, had circulated draft language for a term limits provision as early as 1747 AN, during the latter half of Jimenez's second term. The Democracy Watch advocacy group published a series of reports in 1748 AN documenting the relationship between extended executive tenure and declining legislative oversight, finding that the number of opposition amendments adopted by the Federal Assembly fell by 43% between Jimenez's first and second terms.

Wilson-Clarke, who has represented South Lyrica continuously since 1703 AN, introduced the bill in his capacity as the senior opposition figure in the Federal Assembly. The AJNA coalition was in a period of organizational difficulty at the time, following the Pact of Shadows scandal that had forced former DSP leader Martina Vasquez to flee to Aerla and former FCP leader Ignacio Quispe from the party leadership. Wilson-Clarke framed the amendment as a matter of institutional reform rather than partisan advantage, stating that it addressed "a structural gap in our constitutional order that predates any current political dispute."

Key provisions

The bill proposes the insertion of a new Article 31 into the Proclamation of Punta Santiago, immediately after the existing Article 30 governing the appointment of the Premier. All articles currently numbered 31 and above would be renumbered sequentially. The central provision limits any person to two terms as President of the Government. A "term" is defined as any period of service exceeding thirty months, whether arising from a general election, a motion of confidence, or succession under Article 41. Service of thirty months or fewer, resulting from a mid-term vacancy, would not count toward the limit.

The bill specifies that the two-term limit applies regardless of whether the terms are consecutive. A former Premier who has served two full terms would be permanently ineligible for reappointment, even after a period out of office. A transitional provision stipulates that service completed before the amendment's entry into force would count toward the limit. This means that any former Premier who had already served two terms would be ineligible to serve again upon the amendment's passage. The provision was designed to prevent a hypothetical scenario in which a former long-serving Premier could claim a "fresh start" under the new rules.

The amendment includes an exception for caretaker Premiers. Under existing practice, the Council of State remains in office in a caretaker capacity between the dissolution of the Cortes Federales and the formation of a new government. Caretaker service would not constitute a separate term or count toward the limit. The bill also provides that the High Court would have original jurisdiction over disputes arising from the application of the term limit, including questions about whether a particular period of service meets the statutory threshold.

Legislative progress

Legislative progress of the Presidential Term Limits Constitutional Amendment, 1750
Stage Date Chamber Action Votes (Y-N-A) Details
1 12.III.1750 AN Federal Assembly Introduction - Introduced by Gary Wilson-Clarke with 47 co-sponsors
2 19.III.1750 AN Federal Assembly Referred to Committee - Committee on Constitutional Affairs

Bill text

Presidential Term Limits Constitutional Amendment, 1750

THE READING OF
A
BILL
TO
Amend the Proclamation of Punta Santiago to establish a limit of two terms for any person serving as President of the Government of Nouvelle Alexandrie; to define what constitutes a term for the purpose of this limitation; to provide for transitional arrangements; among other purposes.

Presidential Term Limits Constitutional Amendment, 1750

Presented by Gary Wilson-Clarke, Deputy for South Lyrica
Ordered, by the Cortes Federales of Nouvelle Alexandrie,
to be Printed, 12.III.1750 AN.

BE IT ENACTED by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Cortes Federales, in this present session assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-


PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1: Citation.

  1. This Act may be cited as the "Presidential Term Limits Constitutional Amendment, 1750".

Article 2: Definitions.

  1. For the purposes of this Act:
    1. "President of the Government" means the person appointed under Article 30 of the Proclamation of Punta Santiago to serve as chairman of the Council of State, also known as the "Premier";
    2. "term" means a continuous period of service as President of the Government exceeding thirty (30) months in duration, whether arising from a general election, a vote of confidence, a motion of no-confidence resulting in the appointment of a successor, or any other lawful means of appointment under the Proclamation or the laws of the Federation;
    3. "partial term" means a continuous period of service as President of the Government of thirty (30) months or fewer, arising from a mid-term vacancy;
    4. "caretaker service" means the period during which a President of the Government and the Council of State remain in office in a caretaker capacity between the dissolution of the Cortes Federales and the formation of a new government following a general election;
    5. "Proclamation" means the Proclamation of Punta Santiago, as amended from time to time.

Article 3: Purpose.

  1. The purposes of this Act are:
    1. to amend the Proclamation of Punta Santiago by inserting a new Article 31 establishing a limit on the number of terms any person may serve as President of the Government, and renumbering all subsequent articles accordingly;
    2. to ensure the periodic renewal of executive leadership in the Federation of Nouvelle Alexandrie;
    3. to strengthen democratic governance by preventing the indefinite concentration of executive power in any single individual.

PART II
FINDINGS

Article 4: Findings of the Cortes Federales.

  1. The Cortes Federales finds and declares as follows:
    1. The Proclamation of Punta Santiago, as currently written, places no limit on the number of terms a President of the Government may serve, and this absence represents a structural gap in the constitutional order of the Federation of Nouvelle Alexandrie;
    2. Since the Federation's founding in 1685 AN, four Presidents of the Government have served ten (10) or more consecutive years in office, and in each instance the concentration of executive authority over extended periods has coincided with measurable declines in legislative independence and parliamentary oversight;
    3. The Federal Assembly's adoption rate of opposition amendments fell from 14.2% during the first term of Premier Juan Pablo Jimenez to 8.1% during his second term, indicating diminished legislative pluralism under extended single-party governance;
    4. The absence of term limits disincentivizes orderly leadership transitions within governing parties and contributes to the personalization of executive authority around individual office holders;
    5. A majority of the citizens of the Federation, as measured by the Institute of Public Opinion in 1749 AN, support the establishment of presidential term limits;
    6. The Federation's principal allies within the Raspur Pact and beyond all maintain constitutional or statutory mechanisms limiting executive tenure, and the absence of such limits in Nouvelle Alexandrie represents an outlier among allied democracies;
    7. The voluntary restraint of individual Premiers in declining to seek additional terms, while commendable, does not constitute a durable institutional safeguard;
    8. A two-term limit, encompassing a maximum of approximately ten (10) years, balances democratic rotation with the operational requirements of effective governance;
    9. The constitutional amendment process under Article 56 of the Proclamation ensures that this amendment can be adopted only with broad cross-party support.

PART III
AMENDMENT TO THE PROCLAMATION OF PUNTA SANTIAGO

Article 5: Insertion of new Article 31 and renumbering.

  1. The following new Article is hereby inserted into Chapter III of the Proclamation of Punta Santiago, immediately after Article 30, as Article 31:
Article 31. Term Limit of the President of the Government.
  1. No person shall be appointed to serve as President of the Government for more than two (2) terms.
  2. A "term" for the purposes of this Article means any continuous period of service as President of the Government exceeding thirty (30) months in duration.
  3. A partial term of thirty (30) months or fewer, arising from a mid-term vacancy, shall not count toward the limit established in subsection (1).
  4. The limit established in subsection (1) applies regardless of whether the terms are consecutive. A person who has served two terms is permanently ineligible for appointment as President of the Government.
  5. Caretaker service, as defined by law, does not constitute a separate term and does not count toward the limit established in subsection (1).
  6. Any service as President of the Government completed before the entry into force of this Article shall count toward the limit established in subsection (1).
  7. The High Court shall have original jurisdiction over disputes arising from the application of this Article, including the determination of whether a particular period of service meets the threshold established in subsection (2).

Article 6: Consequential renumbering and amendments.

  1. Upon the entry into force of this Act, Articles 31 through 57 of the Proclamation of Punta Santiago, as they existed immediately before the entry into force of this Act, are renumbered as Articles 32 through 58, respectively.
  2. All cross-references within the Proclamation of Punta Santiago and existing legislation to any article renumbered under subsection (1) shall be read as references to the corresponding renumbered article.
  3. Article 30 of the Proclamation of Punta Santiago is amended by the addition of the following subsection:
7. The appointment of a President of the Government under this Article is subject to the term limit established in Article 31.
  1. The Cortes Federales Act, 1694 shall be amended, within one hundred and eighty (180) days of this Act's entry into force, to incorporate such procedural provisions as may be necessary to give effect to Article 31, including procedures for verifying the eligibility of candidates for the office of President of the Government.

PART IV
TRANSITIONAL AND CLOSING PROVISIONS

Article 7: Transitional provisions.

  1. For the avoidance of doubt, service as President of the Government completed before the entry into force of this Act shall be counted in determining whether a person has reached the two-term limit.
  2. Any person serving as President of the Government on the date this Act enters into force may complete their current term, regardless of whether that term is their first or second.
  3. A person who, on the date this Act enters into force, has already completed two or more terms as President of the Government shall be permanently ineligible for future appointment to that office.

Article 8: Severability.

  1. In the event any provision or part of this Act is found to be invalid or unenforceable, only that particular provision or part so found, and not the entire Act, shall be inoperative.

Article 9: Supermajority requirement.

  1. This Act, being a constitutional amendment within the meaning of Article 56 of the Proclamation of Punta Santiago, shall require a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes cast in the Federal Assembly to pass.
  2. Upon passage by the Federal Assembly, this Act shall be transmitted to H.M. the King for Royal Assent.

Article 10: Commencement and application.

  1. This Act shall apply to all of the Federation of Nouvelle Alexandrie.
  2. This Act shall not become law unless it has been given Royal Assent by H.M. King Sinchi Roca II.
  3. This Act shall be published in the Federal Gazette and made publicly available within seven (7) days of Royal Assent.
  4. This Act shall come into force on the ninetieth (90th) day following its publication in the Federal Gazette.
  5. In the event any provision or part of this Act is found to be invalid or unenforceable, only that particular provision or part so found, and not the entire Act, shall be inoperative.

See also

References

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