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Charles Mollison
Independent Candidate

Comments on specific details of the "People's President" proposal

Eligibility

I would extend the "not member of political party" to 10 years. It would be too easy for a candidate to resign from a life long membership just 12 months before a presidential election. He would not be perceived as apolitical.

Nomination Process

  1. Why have the politicians involved at all? Their candidates would have an immediate unfair advantage because of the media contact available to MP nominators.This would be a great discouragement to would-be candidates in society.
  2. Twenty-eight days gives a monied candidate an advantage - he can place expensive advertising. A genuine "ordinary people" candidate needs time to develop a following; 14 days in the "fail safe" period is insufficient for an elector candidate to get the required signatures.

The Election Process

  1. Secret ballots are anathema in a Parliament where justice must be seen to be done.
  2. Rejection of the candidate is going to be a huge embarrassment. Is anyone else going to put themselves in that position?

I think there is every likelihood of a sole candidate being rejected. For example, suppose the Liberal Party MP's propose a candidate who is obviously of that persuasion. It is unlikely under our current system that the Liberal Party can command a two-thirds majority in a joint sitting - it hasn't been possible for either side in the last 50 years. Once a candidate is rejected, any chance of bipartisan support is unlikely for 10 years.

Tenure & Dismissal

  1. OK
  2. If a dismissed President is allowed to re-nominate and gets re-elected, we have created the very President-versus-Parliament rivalry we are trying to avoid.
    Furthermore, let us assume that the President has continually refused to sign into law a party's bill. And then is caught out in some very un-Presidential activity. Any move to remove the President will be labelled, by the other party, as retaliation for the rejection of the bill, and the three-quarters majority will be impossible to achieve.

For further details: see
Candidate information for Charles Mollison

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Authorised by Charles Mollison
Published by Ross Garrad, 27 November 1997