Requirements for becoming a president
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Qualifications and requirements to become a president in different countries of the world.
Contents |
[edit] Afghanistan
The 2004 Constitution, Article 62, provides that a presidential candidate must be a citizen of Afghanistan and of no other nation; Muslim and born of Afghan parents; at least 40 years old at the time of becoming a candidate; and not to have been convicted of a criminal act or crime against humanity, nor have been deprived of civil rights by a court.[1]
[edit] Albania
The 1998 Constitution, Article 86, Section 2 "Only an Albanian citizen by birth who has been a resident in Albania for not less than the past 10 years and who has reached the age of 40 may be elected President. " [2]
[edit] Algeria
Article 73, section 1 of the Constitution, 1996, provides that "To be eligible to the Presidency of the Republic, the candidate should: have, solely, the Algerian nationality by origin; be a Muslim; be more than forty (40) years-old the day of the election; enjoy full civil and political rights; prove the Algerian nationality of the spouse; (if born before July 1942) justify his participation in the 1st of November 1954 Revolution; and if born after July 1942, "justify the non-involvement of the parents of the candidate in actions hostile to the 1st of November 1954 Revolution"; submit a public declaration of his personal and real estate existing either within Algeria or abroad. Section 2 provides that "Other conditions are prescribed by the law." [3]
[edit] Angola
Article 58 of the 1992 Constitution provides that "Natural born Angolan citizens of over 35 years of age and enjoying full civil and political rights shall be eligible to the post of President of the Republic."[4]
[edit] Argentina
Article 89 of the Argentine Constitution provides that "To be elected President or Vice-President of the Nation it is necessary to have been born in the Argentine territory, or to be the son of a native born citizen if born in a foreign country; and to have the other qualifications required to be elected senator. Section 55 requires that to be elected Senator, one must "have attained to the age of 30 years"; "been six years a citizen of the Nation" and "have an annual income of two thousand strong pesos or similar revenues".[5]
[edit] Armenia
Article 50 of the 1999 Constitution: "Every person having attained the age of thirty five, having been a citizen of the Republic of Armenia for the preceding ten years, having permanently resided in the Republic for the preceding ten years, and having the right to vote is eligible for the Presidency."[6]
[edit] Austria
Article 60, section (3) of the 1983 Constitution provides: "Only a person who has House of Representatives franchise and was thirty five years old before the first of January of the year in which the election is held can be elected Federal President."[7] Members of reigning houses or of formerly regnant families were excluded from eligibility until 2011.
[edit] Azerbaijan
Article 100 of the Constitution states that one must be no younger than 35, a permanent resident of Azerbaijan for 10 years, possess the right to vote, have not been convicted of a crime, hold no liabilities in other states, hold a university degree, and not have dual citizenship in order to become president.[8]
[edit] Bangladesh
Article 48, section 5 of the Constitution provides three factors which disqualify one for the presidency: being less than 35 years old, not being qualified to be elected to parliament, and having previously been impeached under the current Constitution. The qualifications for election to parliament are that one be a citizen and be at least 25 years old (which is superseded by the presidential requirement of 35 years). Further, one can be disqualified from election to parliament for the following reasons:
- Being declared by a court to be of unsound mind.
- Being an undercharged insolvent.
- Acquiring citizenship or allegiance to another state.
- Having been convicted of a crime with a prison sentence of two or more years in the past five years.
- Holds certain offices of profit under the government.
- Is otherwise disqualified by law.[9]
[edit] Bolivia
Article 88 of the Constitution provides that the President must meet the same conditions as a Senator, referring to Article 64: "to be 35 years old and meet the requirements for being a Deputy".
[edit] Brazil
Article 14, Section III (3) of the Constitution requires a candidate to be i. of Brazilian nationality; ii. eligible to vote; iii. registered to vote; iv. living in electoral district; v. member of a political party and vi.(a) minimum age of 35.[10]
[edit] Colombia
Article 191 of the Colombian Constitution requires that to be president one must be Colombian by birth ("colombiano por nacimiento"), have full citizenship ("ciudadano en ejercicio") and older than 30. ("mayor de treinta años").[11]
[edit] France
The required personal qualifications for a candidate for the presidential elections are the same as those for any other official election, as set forth in the French Electoral code (Code électoral). A candidate for an election must be a citizen, have attained the age of 23 years, be qualified to vote, and not be ineligible by dint of a criminal conviction or judicial decision.
Law No. 62-1292 of 6 November 1962 on the election of the President by universal suffrage (Loi n°62-1292 du 6 novembre 1962 relative à l'élection du Président de la République au suffrage universel) further requires presidential candidates to be nominated by at least five hundred qualified elected officials, such as members of Parliament and mayors.
[edit] Germany
Article 54, section 1, of the German constitution states that "Any German who is entitled to vote in Bundestag elections and has attained the age of forty may be elected".[12] Article 116, section 1, defines "German" as "a person who possesses German citizenship or who has been admitted to the territory of the German Reich within the boundaries of December 31, 1937 as a refugee or expellee of German ethnic origin or as the spouse or descendant of such person." [13]
[edit] India
Article 58 of the Constitution sets the principle qualifications one must meet to be eligible to the office of the President. A President must be:
A person shall not be eligible for election as President if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said Governments. Certain office-holders, however, are permitted to stand as Presidential candidates. These are:
- The current Vice President.
- The Governor of any State.
- A Minister of the Union or of any State (Including Prime Minister and Chief Ministers).
In the event that the Vice President, a State Governor or a Minister is elected President, they are considered to have vacated their previous office on the date they begin serving as President.
[edit] Mexico
The constitution of Mexico requires the candidate to be natural-born citizen of Mexico with at least one parent who is a natural-born citizen of Mexico. He should be at least 35 years of age and should have resided in Mexico for at least 20 years in his entire lifetime and for the entire year before the election. He should not be a secretary or under-secretary of state, attorney general, or governor of a state at least 6 months prior to the election.
[edit] The Philippines
Under Article 7, Section 2 of the Philippine Constitution, in order to serve as President, one must be at least 40 years of age, a registered voter, able to read and write, a Filipino citizen by birth, and a resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years prior to election.[14]
[edit] Turkey
Article 101 of the Constitution of Turkey specifies that the President of Turkey shall have completed higher education, be at least forty years of age, and be a member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly or a Turkish citizen eligible to be a deputy. The requirements for the latter are given by Article 76, and exclude, among others, persons who have failed to perform compulsory military service, and those who have been convicted for dishonourable offences. Judges, civil servants, and members of the Armed Forces are not eligible unless they resign from office.
[edit] United States of America
The person must be 35 years of age or older, a natural-born citizen of the United States and must have been a permanent resident of the United States of America for at least 14 years. Additionally, a candidate must not have served more than one previous term as president, not have been impeached by the Senate, and not have participated in a rebellion against the United States.
[edit] References
- ^ "Afghanistan Constitution". http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/icl/af00000_.html. Retrieved 2009-01-19.[dead link]
- ^ "Albanian Constitution". http://www.ipls.org/services/kusht/cp4.html. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ "Algeria Constitution". http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/icl/ag00000_.html. Retrieved 2009-01-19.[dead link]
- ^ "Angola Constitution". http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/icl/ao00000_.html. Retrieved 2009-01-19.[dead link]
- ^ "Argentina Constitution section 55". http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/icl/ar00000_.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16.[dead link]
- ^ "Armenia Constitution". http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/icl/am00000_.html. Retrieved 2009-01-19.[dead link]
- ^ "Austria Constitution". http://www.servat.unibe.ch/law/icl/au00000_.html. Retrieved 2009-01-19.[dead link]
- ^ "Azerbaijan Constitution". http://www.constcourt.gov.az/en/download/legislation/constitution_final_2009.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- ^ "Bangladesh Constitution". http://www.pmo.gov.bd/pmolib/constitution/. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- ^ "Brazil - Constitution". http://servat.unibe.ch/icl/br00000_.html. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ "Requisitos para ser candidato presidencial". http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Comp/Ejecutivo/Presidencia/requisitos.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ "Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, article 54". http://www.iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/GG.htm#54. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ^ "Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, article 116". http://www.iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/GG.htm#116. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ^ "1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines". Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. http://www.chanrobles.com/article7.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
