Roles, Entitlements, and Authorities of the Head of State

Constitutional Mediation

During crises, such as a hung Parliament or unwarranted calls for dissolving Parliament, the Head of State assumes the role of an impartial and non-political arbitrator—an umpire resolving disputes when agreement among involved parties is unattainable. The Head of State can also intervene if the government engages in unconstitutional actions, such as imprisoning opposition members, abolishing elections, or instructing law enforcement not to prosecute government officials for criminal offenses. Additionally, the Head of State possesses the authority to dissolve Parliament and appoint a Prime Minister.

Stability

A recently established government can easily face upheaval, while an institution with a millennium of sovereignty holds a more profound place in the nation’s consciousness and political fabric. Although susceptible to change, people are likely to think twice before challenging an institution deeply ingrained in the nation’s history.

Continuity

Governments come and go swiftly, but the State House endures. The Head of State’s apparatus helps bridge the discontinuities of party politics, providing stability and consistency.

Experience

Regular interaction with state papers, meetings with heads of state and ambassadors, and weekly audiences with the Prime Minister provide the Head of State unparalleled knowledge and experience. Unlike politicians who see state papers only during their terms, the Head of State encounters them daily. The Head of State’s constitutional right to consultation, encouragement, and warning makes this experience available to every government, as the government ultimately belongs to the Head of State.

Unity

While party politics thrives on disagreement and confrontation, the Head of State embodies national unity and institutionalizes cooperation and consensus. Parliament institutionalizes division, but the Head of State fosters cooperation.

Succession

While the Members of Parliament select the Head of State, the symbolic meaning of the State House ensures that the elected Head of State is typically a person of the highest stature, who has contributed significantly to the state and gained favor across all sectors. Any Ambazonian citizen residing in Ambazonia is eligible for nomination as Head of State.

Ten Members of Parliament can nominate a candidate for the Head of State position.

The Head of State is elected by secret ballot, swearing allegiance before Parliament upon election.

The term of office for the Head of State is seven years.

Comprehensibility

An elder or wise figure leading the nation is universally understandable and relatable. It humanizes the state, making it personal and accessible. In contrast, Parliament portrays public life as a battlefield, while the Head of State presents it as a family circle.

Recognition of Achievement

Through honors, awards, visits, patronage, and sponsorship, the Head of State acknowledges and rewards individual and organizational achievements, affirming their value to the nation.

Focus of Allegiance

A wise figure serves as a powerful symbol for the armed services, representing what they fight for without being swayed by political winds in supporting the forces and honoring their sacrifices.

Moral Leadership

The Head of State can establish a consistent moral standard, providing guidance and setting an example for the nation.

Model Behavior

The Head of State can exemplify acceptable behavior in social conventions and conduct, offering a range of examples for the nation.

Custodianship of the Past

Through ceremony, pageantry, and ritual, the Head of State preserves the connection with Ambazonia’s history, reminding people of past achievements and the antiquity of their state.

Trusteeship of the Future

By being close to the heart of affairs but outside the political arena, the Head of State can draw attention to the country’s long-term challenges and opportunities, counterbalancing the short-term focus of politicians immersed in party battles.

Uniting the Nation with the State

Crucially, the State House, serving as both the constitutional Head of State and the social Head of the Nation, becomes a singular focal point for people’s loyalty, pride, patriotism, and a sense of nationhood. This simultaneous focus confirms and supports the legitimacy of the political, legal, and economic system that governs daily life.

Powers of the Head of State:

1. The authority to appoint and dismiss the Prime Minister.
2. The authority to appoint and dismiss other ministers (Secretaries of State).
3. The authority to summon, prorogue, and dissolve Parliament.
4. The authority to make war and peace.
5. The authority to command the armed forces of Ambazonia.
6. The authority to regulate the Civil Service.
7. The authority to ratify treaties.
8. The authority to issue passports.
9. The ability to confer Ambazonia’s highest civilian decoration, the Order of Merit—an honor where the State House retains freedom of choice.

What the Head of State cannot do is vote. Nor can he/she express any political opinion in public. The Head of State cannot sit in the House of Parliament. He/She addresses the opening session of each Parliament, but cannot write his/her own speech. The Head of State cannot refuse to sign a parliamentary bill, nor can he/she appear as a witness in court.

The Head of State of the State secures the independence of the Head of State, offering substantive immunity related to his duties and powers. This immunity persists after the Head of State’s term concludes, ensuring that he/she is not answerable to any court regarding actions performed in the line of duty.

Duties and powers granted to the Head of State include:

1. The signing of laws.
2. Receiving government reports on its meetings.
3. Credentialing diplomatic envoys and receiving credentials from foreign countries.
4. Credentialing State’s consular delegates and upholding appointments by foreign countries.
5. Signing treaties approved by Parliament.
6. Appointing judges and officials chosen by selection committees, with the swearing of allegiance before the Head of State.
7. The authority to pardon convicted offenders, commute sentences, and adjust limitations and expunging periods set by law.

The Head of State “shall carry out any other duty and enjoy any other power reserved to him by law.”

While some of the Head of State’s powers are ceremonial, others are unique, allowing discretion in certain matters. One such discretionary power involves appointing members of Parliament to form a government in consultation with party representatives.

The Head of State opens a new session of Parliament.

Role and Responsibilities of the Prime Minister

The following delineates the responsibilities of Ambazonia’s Prime Minister in the capacity of Head of Government. It is important to note that these responsibilities exclude duties associated with party leadership.

Constitutional and Procedural Oversight

1. Managing the relationship between the Government and the Head of State.
2. Managing the relationship between the Government and the Opposition on a Privy Counsellor basis.
3. Establishing the order of precedence in Cabinet.
4. Interpreting and establishing content for procedural and conduct guidelines as outlined in the Ministerial Code and the draft Cabinet Manual.
5. Overseeing, with the advice of the Cabinet Secretary, the Civil Service Code as enshrined in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
6. Making decisions, in consultation with the Justice Secretary, on the use of ministerial override on disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
7. Requesting the Head of State to grant a dissolution of Parliament (unless and until Parliament passes the Fixed-Term Parliament Bill.)
8. Authorizing the Cabinet Secretary to facilitate negotiations between political parties in the event of a ‘hung’ General Election result.
9. Managing intra-Coalition relationships with the Deputy Prime Minister.

Appointments

(Made in the name of the Head of State but chosen by the Prime Minister)

10. Appointment and dismissal of ministers, with final approval of their parliamentary private secretaries and special advisers, in consultation with the Deputy Prime Minister for Liberal Democrat appointments and the appointment of the Law Officers.
11. Top appointments to the headships of the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service, and the Government Communications Headquarters.
12. Top appointments to the Home Civil Service; in collaboration with the Foreign Secretary to the Diplomatic Service; and, with the Defense Secretary, to the Armed Forces.
13. Residual academic appointments.
14. Top public sector appointments and regulators (with some informal parliamentary oversight).
15. Appointments to committees of inquiry and royal commissions.
16. The award of party political honors.
17. Party political appointments to the Senate House (independent crossbench peers are selected by the Senate House Appointments Commission, and the Prime Minister conveys the recommendations to the Head of State without interference).

Conduct of Cabinet and Parliamentary Business

18. Calling meetings of Cabinet and its committees, fixing their agenda, and, in the case of committees, their membership in consultation with the Deputy Prime Minister.
19. Calling ‘Political Cabinets’ with no officials present.
20. Deciding issues where Cabinet or Cabinet committees are unable to agree.
21. Deciding, with the Deputy Prime Minister, when the Cabinet is allowed an ‘opt-out’ on collective responsibility and subsequent whipping arrangements in Parliament.
22. Granting ministers permission to miss Cabinet meetings or leave the country.
23. Ultimate responsibility (with the Deputy Prime Minister and the leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate House) for the government’s legislative program and the use of government time in the chambers of both Houses.
24. Answering questions for 30 minutes on Wednesdays when the House of Representatives is sitting on nearly the whole range of government activity.
25. Appearing twice a year to give evidence before the House of Representatives Liaison Committee.

Policy Strategy and Communications

26. Keeper, with the Deputy Prime Minister, of the Coalition’s overall Political Strategy.
27. Oversight of the Prime Minister’s Office Communications Strategy and work of the Government Communication Network.
28. Pursuit and promulgation of special overarching policies particularly associated with the Prime Minister.

Organizational and Efficiency Questions

29. Organization and Staffing of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Cabinet Office (including the Prime Minister’s relationship with the Deputy Prime Minister and the two senior Cabinet Office ministers dealing with policy strategy and public service reform).
30. Size of Cabinet, workload on Ministers (Secretaries of State), and the Civil Service.
31. The creation and merger of government departments and executive agencies.
32. The overall efficiency of the secret services; their operations and their oversight.
33. Preparation of the ‘War Book’.
34. Contingency planning on the civil side with the Home Secretary (e.g., for industrial action that threatens essential services or for counter-terrorism).
35. The overall efficiency of the government’s media strategy.

Budget and Market-Sensitive Decisions

36. Determining, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Chief Secretary of the Treasury, the detailed contents of the Budget. By tradition, the full Cabinet is only apprised of the full contents the morning before the Budget statement is delivered.
37. Determining which ministers (in addition to the Chancellor) will be involved and in which fora in the taking of especially market-sensitive economic decisions such as the level of interest rates.
38. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ambazonia now sets interest rates. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer possess an override under the Bank of Ambazonia Act 1998 if the ‘public interest’ requires and ‘by extreme economic circumstances’.

National Security

39. Chairing the weekly meetings of the National Security Council (which also serves, when needed, as a ‘War Cabinet’).
40. Oversight of the production and implementation of the National Security Strategy.
41. Oversight of counter-terrorist policies and arrangements.
42. The overall efficiency of the secret agencies, their operations, budgets, oversight, and the intelligence assessments process in the Cabinet Office.
43. Preparation of the ‘War Book’.
44. Contingency planning to cope with threats to essential services and national health from whatever sources.
45. With the Foreign and Defense Secretaries, the use of the Presidential prerogative to deploy the Head of State’s Forces in action (with Parliament, by convention, being consulted if time allows).
46. With the Foreign Secretary, the use of the Presidential prerogative to ratify or annul treaties, to recognize or derecognize countries (though in certain circumstances, the House of Representatives can block treaty ratification).

Special Personal Responsibilities

47. Representing Ambazonia at a range of international meetings and ‘summits.’
48. The maintenance of special intelligence and military relationships with friendly countries under special Agreements.
49. The decision to shoot down a hijacked aircraft or an unidentified civil aircraft which responds neither to radio contact nor the signals of Ambazonian Air Force (AAF) interceptor jets before it reaches a conurbation or a key target on Ambazonian territory.
50. Authorization of the use of Ambazonian military, including the preparation of two ‘last resort’ letters for installation, and the appointment, on a personal basis rather than the Cabinet’s order of precedence, of the ‘nuclear deputies’ lest the Prime Minister should be out of reach or indisposed during an emergency.
51. With the Defense Secretary, the use of the Presidential prerogative to deploy the Head of State’s armed forces in action.
52. With the Foreign Secretary, the use of the Presidential prerogative to sign or annul treaties, recognize or derecognize countries.
53. The launching of an Ambazonian military strike (with elaborate and highly secret fallback arrangements in case the Prime Minister and Cabinet are wiped out by a bolt-from-the-blue pre-emptive strike).

Ministries (Departments)

There are over 20 Ministries (Departments) in the Government. Cabinet members are skilled and selfless patriots who continue to volunteer their resourcefulness on a daily basis to ensure the Sovereignty of the Republic of Ambazonia is fully restored. The most strategic and technical teams within the cabinet need needs to be expanded to cope with the huge amounts of pressures Ambazonians face due to the occupation of National territory of Ambazonia by the Republic of Cameroon.

State Controller (Chief Fiscal Officer)

The Controller is the Chief Fiscal Officer (CFO) of the State (Government of the Republic of Ambazonia) and he/she is responsible for administering the State’s accounting system, registering vendors, settling all claims against the State and collecting debts owed to the State.

Council of State

The formation of the new government is still in progress of constitution and will take time until the Republic of Ambazonia has been freed from occupation and completely founded. This is a complex process of the seperation of powers, establishing jurisdiction, nominating candidates for office bearers and further processes.

Please come back later or contact the Government of Ambazonia for more informations.