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/u/Levitalus
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Since there are talks of Constitutional Reform, I would like to start a discourse on what a new constitution should look like and share some thoughts.
I think that our constitution gives too much power to the president. Historically, when have you ever heard that a Senate President or Chief Justice seized power? It's either it is the military or the executive. Even the most famous example (Roman Senators killing Julius Caesar) ended with the Roman Senate losing most of its powers and the republic ending.
With that said, I would like to propose my own ideas for what such a constitution would look like, but of course, I can not write it all, so some things must be (relatively) brief.
Summary:
β Nigeria goes back to the Parliamentary system
β Head of the State and head of Government become separate but equal (in principle) offices
β Head of State elected by popular vote, Head of Government elected by Upper House
β House of Reps(Lower House) loses most powers and becomes mostly advisory
β Senate becomes a House of Experts(Upper House), where people with (minimum)Master's Degrees are voted into topic specific committees (one person represents each state a committee)
β Term and Age Limits for ALL offices
Key Features: TLDR: Think of it as a combination of British and South African Government structure. My core ideas are to be:
Democratic β Fit to govern a large, multicultural society β Limit the force of populism in Government β Introduce term limits for ALL elected offices β Stricter educational requirements β Ban political parties, all offices are ran independently and campaigned for (compulsorily) with tax funds
Lower House: House of Reps(Populism)
House of Reps remains similar, but with key differences:
β (IMPORTANT) Similar to UK House of Lords, House of Reps loses most legislative powers and would primarily function as an advisory body to Upper House
β Election procedure remains the same, with seats allocated based on population.
β Can only overturn Upper House bills with a two-thirds (66%) supermajority
β Reps can still vote on bills, but they require Upper House approval.
β 3 year terms, with a maximum of 5 terms. 60 years age limit, 18 years age minimum.
Upper House: House of Experts(Equity)
This House of Experts will replace the Senate and will have major differences
β All lawmaking powers are vested in the Upper House
β Upper House elects President of the Federation
β Upper House is split into various committees that have 36 + 1(FCT) seats, which represent all aspects of lawmaking (e.g, committee for finance, health, education, culture, etc.)
β Bills must be assented to by the relevant committee before passing on to the floor
β IMPORTANT: Experts are voted to represent a State in only one committee, so if there are 12 committees, then each state can elect one Expert who will serve on one specific committee (e.g the House Expert on Finance from Osun, House Expert on Health from Imo)
β IMPORTANT: To qualify to be an expert, you must have at least a Masters degree relevant to your specific committee AND a minimum of 10 years of full-time working experience in the relevant field
β Experts can not be members of any political party. If they were, they must wait 10 years before running for office
β 5 years per term, with a maximum of 4 terms. 75 years age limit, 25 years age minimum
Executive
The key thing to note here is that the President will lose the powers of the Head of State, which will become a separate elected office.
President (Head of Government) (Equity)
β Elected by the Upper House to a 5 year term, 3 term maximum. Can not be removed from the office with a simple majority
β Retains broad powers to oversee the operations of the Executive. Retains veto power for most bills and signs most bills.
β Loses power to fire appointees(except ministers and things like Secretary to the President) at will. Instead, appointees are appointed to 2 year terms(If the President loses a reelection, the new President has a special window to fire appointees)
β Must be eligible to run for office in Upper House. Cannot be a member of any political parties
β Must deliver "State of the Federation" speeches to National Assembly every quarter, and field PMQ(Its a British Parliament thing) style questions from opposition
Federal Minister (Head of State) (Populism)
β Elected by popular vote. Serves 5 year terms, with 3 terms maximum. De Jure equal in rank to President.
β Acts as Head Delegate of the Nation, welcomes foreign dignitaries, and acts as De Facto leader of the Ministy of Foreign Affairs and Culture
β Controls 15% of the budget, which they can use to fund projects more in line with people's wishes
β Makes a limited set of appointments
β Does not control military, but can deploy National Guard in times of emergency
β Confers National Awards and leads most National Ceremonies
β Must be eligible to run for office in the Lower House to qualify. Cannot be a member of a political party.
β Can Veto limited set of bills (mostly aesthetic ones like from the Culture Committee)
β Can introduce legislation in Lower House.
β Can force Upper House to vote on an issue if it has been discussed for too long (~1 year)
I could go on, but I think I have written quite a lot. I spend a lot of time thinking about policy decisions that the government should be making, and I feel like this is the most interesting policy to consider, right?
Does this system seem like something reasonable, or have I cooked rubbish? Do try to read as much of it as you can.
Please, I am really curious to hear your opinions. I hope you all engage thoughtfully.
submitted by /u/Levitalus
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Continue reading...
I think that our constitution gives too much power to the president. Historically, when have you ever heard that a Senate President or Chief Justice seized power? It's either it is the military or the executive. Even the most famous example (Roman Senators killing Julius Caesar) ended with the Roman Senate losing most of its powers and the republic ending.
With that said, I would like to propose my own ideas for what such a constitution would look like, but of course, I can not write it all, so some things must be (relatively) brief.
Summary:
β Nigeria goes back to the Parliamentary system
β Head of the State and head of Government become separate but equal (in principle) offices
β Head of State elected by popular vote, Head of Government elected by Upper House
β House of Reps(Lower House) loses most powers and becomes mostly advisory
β Senate becomes a House of Experts(Upper House), where people with (minimum)Master's Degrees are voted into topic specific committees (one person represents each state a committee)
β Term and Age Limits for ALL offices
Key Features: TLDR: Think of it as a combination of British and South African Government structure. My core ideas are to be:
Democratic β Fit to govern a large, multicultural society β Limit the force of populism in Government β Introduce term limits for ALL elected offices β Stricter educational requirements β Ban political parties, all offices are ran independently and campaigned for (compulsorily) with tax funds
- Parliamentary Republic with President(a bit like South Africa)
Lower House: House of Reps(Populism)
House of Reps remains similar, but with key differences:
β (IMPORTANT) Similar to UK House of Lords, House of Reps loses most legislative powers and would primarily function as an advisory body to Upper House
β Election procedure remains the same, with seats allocated based on population.
β Can only overturn Upper House bills with a two-thirds (66%) supermajority
β Reps can still vote on bills, but they require Upper House approval.
β 3 year terms, with a maximum of 5 terms. 60 years age limit, 18 years age minimum.
Upper House: House of Experts(Equity)
This House of Experts will replace the Senate and will have major differences
β All lawmaking powers are vested in the Upper House
β Upper House elects President of the Federation
β Upper House is split into various committees that have 36 + 1(FCT) seats, which represent all aspects of lawmaking (e.g, committee for finance, health, education, culture, etc.)
β Bills must be assented to by the relevant committee before passing on to the floor
β IMPORTANT: Experts are voted to represent a State in only one committee, so if there are 12 committees, then each state can elect one Expert who will serve on one specific committee (e.g the House Expert on Finance from Osun, House Expert on Health from Imo)
β IMPORTANT: To qualify to be an expert, you must have at least a Masters degree relevant to your specific committee AND a minimum of 10 years of full-time working experience in the relevant field
β Experts can not be members of any political party. If they were, they must wait 10 years before running for office
β 5 years per term, with a maximum of 4 terms. 75 years age limit, 25 years age minimum
Executive
The key thing to note here is that the President will lose the powers of the Head of State, which will become a separate elected office.
President (Head of Government) (Equity)
β Elected by the Upper House to a 5 year term, 3 term maximum. Can not be removed from the office with a simple majority
β Retains broad powers to oversee the operations of the Executive. Retains veto power for most bills and signs most bills.
β Loses power to fire appointees(except ministers and things like Secretary to the President) at will. Instead, appointees are appointed to 2 year terms(If the President loses a reelection, the new President has a special window to fire appointees)
β Must be eligible to run for office in Upper House. Cannot be a member of any political parties
β Must deliver "State of the Federation" speeches to National Assembly every quarter, and field PMQ(Its a British Parliament thing) style questions from opposition
Federal Minister (Head of State) (Populism)
β Elected by popular vote. Serves 5 year terms, with 3 terms maximum. De Jure equal in rank to President.
β Acts as Head Delegate of the Nation, welcomes foreign dignitaries, and acts as De Facto leader of the Ministy of Foreign Affairs and Culture
β Controls 15% of the budget, which they can use to fund projects more in line with people's wishes
β Makes a limited set of appointments
β Does not control military, but can deploy National Guard in times of emergency
β Confers National Awards and leads most National Ceremonies
β Must be eligible to run for office in the Lower House to qualify. Cannot be a member of a political party.
β Can Veto limited set of bills (mostly aesthetic ones like from the Culture Committee)
β Can introduce legislation in Lower House.
β Can force Upper House to vote on an issue if it has been discussed for too long (~1 year)
I could go on, but I think I have written quite a lot. I spend a lot of time thinking about policy decisions that the government should be making, and I feel like this is the most interesting policy to consider, right?
Does this system seem like something reasonable, or have I cooked rubbish? Do try to read as much of it as you can.
Please, I am really curious to hear your opinions. I hope you all engage thoughtfully.
submitted by /u/Levitalus
[link] [comments]
Continue reading...
