Government of the Twelve Colonies

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Government of the Twelve Colonies

The Colonial Government is a democratically elected government, headed by a President. The president at the time of the Cylon attack was President Adar. Upon his death, he was succeeded by President Laura Roslin, who had previously been the Secretary of Education. Roslin was appointed the presidency by the Case Orange governmental contingency mechanism.

The President is assisted by a Cabinet. Each government department is headed by a minister or secretary. The Vice President and the Cabinet are included in the line of succession. (Mini-Series)

Each of the twelve colonies is represented by one elected member of the Quorum of Twelve. Ronald Moore has indicated in a podcast that there was a lower chamber, presumably be larger and with representation based on population. In that same podcast he indicate that there was also a body of clerics to advise the government. In the event of a tie during Quorum meetings, the President of the Colonies casts the tie-breaking vote. Members of the Quorum are not permitted to hold positions within the executive branch. When Gaius Baltar, the elected delegate of Caprica, is elevated to Vice President (Colonial Day), he is replaced with a new representative on the Quorum within a week (Fragged). In that episode, twelve delegates, each wearing a sash to represent a colony, debate with Colonel Tigh.

Government of the Fleet

Executive Branch

Laura Roslin, Secretary of Education under President Adar, assumed the presidency after the deaths of Adar and the 42 other secretaries and ministers above her under the Case Orange contingency system. She has yet to form an official cabinet of her own, but has employed various advisors over the months since the destruction of the colonies. These include:

• Billy Keikeya, aide de camp
• Priest Elosha, spiritual advisor, formerly a government cleric (RDM, January 30, 2005) (Killed in episode #2.6, "Home, Part I" and apparently not replaced).
• Captain Lee Adama, military advisor (Water)
• Wallace Gray, economic advisor (Colonial Day)

The office of Vice President is currently filled by Dr. Gaius Baltar.

Elections

Vice Presidency (Day 49)

46 days after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, a new Quorum was elected by survivors of the twelve colonies. Their first order of business was the election of a Vice President, a motion presented by Tom Zarek (Sagittaron) and seconded by Dr. Gaius Baltar (Caprica). Marshall Bagott (Virgon) nominated Zarek for the position, and was seconded by Sarah Porter (Gemenon). Roslin's supporters selected Wallace Grey to compete with him. He later dropped out and was replaced with Dr. Baltar.

Zarek lost the election six votes to six, with President Roslin casting the tie-breaker. Based on on-screen evidence, he apparently had the support of Aerelon, Aquaria, Gemeonon, Picon, Sagittaron and Virgon.

This election followed a procedure similar to that laid out in the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, with two exceptions: under U.S. law, only the president may appoint a nominee; and that nominee must be confirmed by both houses of congress, not just the upper house. The 25th amendment is unclear on tie-breaking scenarios, as it is the Vice-President himself who is empowered to break ties in the U.S. Senate.)

Presidency (Scheduled, c. Day 222)

The late President Adar's unexpired term, which Laura Roslin is currently filling under the provisions of Case Orange, is set to expire roughly seven and a half months post-holocaust. Roslin herself is not an anticipated candidate, due to the rapid progression of her cancer. Representative Tom Zarek has already made it clear to Roslin that he intends to run for president in the upcoming election (Colonial Day).