President of Tseng

The President of the Tseng Republic, commonly referred to as the president of Tseng, is the head of state of the Tseng Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Tsengian Armed Forces.

The president is directly elected every four years by popular vote according to the Constitution of Tseng. If there is a presidential vacancy, then presidential duties shall be performed by the vice-president, followed by the prime minister, president of the National State Assembly, etc.

Requirements
To first become a president, they must be a natural-born citizen of the country or born overseas to Tsengian parents (included naturalized citizens until 1969). The president must also be at least 35 years old and under 80 years old. However, this age requirement does not include the duration of the presidency. For example, on January 22, 2016, President Marc Tseng turned 80 years old. Despite this, he was still allowed to serve until the end of his term in July. The president must also not have a major incident on their criminal record, and they must have sound mental capacity.

Abilities
The president of Tseng is responsible for conducting foreign relations, such as concluding treaties, declaring war, and making peace. The president must promulgate all laws and has no right to veto, but can approve or not veto proposed by the cabinet. Other powers of the president include granting amnesty, pardon or clemency, declaring martial law, and conferring honors and decorations. In the event of imminent danger to the state and/or the people, the president can, with the resolution of the cabinet, issue emergency decrees. This power was abused during the Luanzheng Era, with the presidencies of Frederik Bao (1962-1965), Robert Bei-yang (1965), Paul Zhang (1965-1968), and Han Cheng-wen (1968) issuing a total of 8,500+ emergency decrees. However, since the 1969 constitution, within 30 days the decree must be ratified by the National State Assembly. If it passes, then the ratification occurs every 90 days. If not, then the decree becomes nullified.

Succession
A short list on the line of succession following the vacancy of the office of the president of Tseng:


 * 1) Vice-President of Tseng: Wang Qing-lai
 * 2) Prime Minister of Tseng: Francis Qiu
 * 3) President of the National State Assembly: Alan Zeng
 * 4) Secretary of Defense: Paul Hsien-tung
 * 5) Vice-President of the National State Assembly: Li Huai-chen

The most extreme example of presidential succession occurred during the 2008 Tsengian constitutional crisis. Following the resignation of President James Huang on May 8, vice-president Sophia Chang was to be president, but she resigned the day before, so it went down to Isaac Liu, the prime minister. Liu, being 92 at the time, was ineligible, so Marc Tseng, president of the NSA, took the presidential oath and became president of Tseng.