Government of the Twelve Colonies

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Government of the Twelve Colonies

The Government of the Twelve Colonies, established by the Articles of Colonization, is a federal republic established 52 years prior to the Re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, lead by a democratically elected president and legislature.

Executive Branch

The President at the time of the Cylon attack was President Richard Adar. The President is assisted by a Cabinet, consisting of the heads of the various government departments. Under Adar, the Minister of Civil Defense was a man named Jack, and the Secretary of Education was Laura Roslin. The President can request the resignation of his cabinet members, but they are apparently not obligated to comply. ("Epiphanies")

In the event of the death or incapacitation of the President, the Vice President and the Cabinet are included in the line of succession. At the time she assumed the presidency, Roslin was 43rd in line. ("Miniseries")

This line of succession is apparently similar to the United States presidential line of succession, which only includes 17 officers beneath the President. The US Secretary of Education is number 16.

Legislative Branch

The Colonial legislature is bicameral. The upper house is the Quorum of Twelve, with each colony represented by a single delegate, each with one vote. When the Vice Presidency becomes vacant, the Quorum is responsible for the both the nomination and confirmation of the successor to that office. The President of the Colonies is also the presiding officer of the Quorum, with the authority to break tie votes. Ceremonial dress for Quorum members includes a sash representing their colony.

The lower house is apparently larger, and may be elected on a proportional basis. The government also apparently recognizes an unelected religious body in an advisory capacity, similar to the British House of Lords, and maintains a separate judiciary (RDM, January 30, 2005). This may be the body which Gaius Baltar refers to as the "People's Council" in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II".

Plurality of office is apparently forbidden, as Dr. Gaius Baltar is promptly replaced after being elected to the Vice Presidency from a position on the Quorum (Fragged). Numerous civil liberties are guaranteed under the Articles of Colonization.

Many of these are apparently analogous to the United States Bill of Rights.

Government of the Fleet

Executive Branch

Roslin Administration

Laura Roslin, Secretary of Education under President Richard Adar, assumes the presidency after the deaths of Adar and the 42 other secretaries and ministers above her under the Case Orange contingency system. She apparently never forms an official cabinet of her own, but employs various advisers during the remaining nine months of Adar's unexpired term. Dr. Gaius Baltar is chosen as her vice president in a special election 49 days after the Cylon attack.

Roslin's Presidential Advisers

  • Billy Keikeya - Personal Assistant to the President and makeshift Press Secretary
(Keikeya is killed in the episode "Sacrifice".)
  • Tory Foster - Personal Assistant to the President and makeshift Press Secretary
(Foster succceeds Keikeya in the episode "The Captain's Hand".)
(Elosha is killed in the episode "Home, Part I".)
  • Brother Cavil - Spiritual Adviser
(Cavil apparently succeeds Elosha for a brief period during "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II" prior to his discovery as a Cylon agent.)
(It's unclear when Adama's service as Military Adviser ends. He has not been seen in that capacity since "Home, Part II". Roslin's relationship with William Adama warms considerably following the events of that episode, to some degree obviating her need for a special military adviser. We must assume that Lee Adama's responsibilities as commander of Pegasus leave him little time for affairs of state following "The Captain's Hand")
(Gray apparently servers ties with the Roslin administration following his dismissal as vice presidential candidate in "Colonial Day".)

Baltar Administration

Baltar announces his candidacy against Roslin one month prior to the presidential elections, backed by Tom Zarek (who he had earlier defeated in his bid for the vice presidency). Baltar runs on a platform opposed to religious interference in government affairs, prompted by the Rya Kibby affair, and in favor of colonization of New Caprica. Although Roslin attempts to fix the election in her favor, he is installed as President after the voter fraud is uncovered by Felix Gaeta.

Baltar's Presidential Advisers

Legislative Branch

46 days after the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, a new Quorum of Twelve is elected by survivors of the Twelve Colonies. It first convenes on Cloud Nine on the eve of Colonial Day and was in session for some time thereafter (Fragged, Final Cut). Quorum representatives include:

Cloud Nine is destroyed in a nuclear attack by the Cylon agent Gina. It is unknown whether any of the Quorum delegates were on board at the time of the attack.

Elections

Vice Presidency (Day 49)

The new Quorum's 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 Bagot (Virgon) nominated Zarek for the position, and was seconded by Sarah Porter (Gemenon). Roslin's supporters selected Wallace Gray 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, Gemenon, 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

The late President Richard Adar's unexpired term, which Laura Roslin filled under the provisions of Case Orange, expires roughly nine and a half months post-holocaust. Roslin did not initially expect to run, due to the rapid progression of her cancer, but after her cure (Epiphanies) she made it clear that she would stand for re-election.

Tom Zarek, who had been defeated in his earlier bid for the vice presidency, privately announced his intention to campaign for the presidency early on (Colonial Day), but withdrew his bid after he came to realize that he could not hope to overcome Roslin's popularity. Instead, he threw his backing behind former opponent Gaius Baltar, who publicly broke ranks with the Roslin adminisstration following the Kibby affair (The Captain's Hand).

The election was conducted as a popular vote across the entire fleet, with votes being counted by military staff on Galactica, overseen by civilian officials. The election resulted in victory for Baltar and a strong mandate for his policy of settlement on New Caprica, despite an attempt at rigging the election by the outgoing administration.

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