We now apparently have our first Constitutional crisis on our hands. According to the Constitution approved by the 1st Parliament:
As the last presidential election took place on
10 September, 2015, this means that the most recent presidential term - that of HagridOfTheDeep - actually ended last Thursday. As such, the Speaker of Parliament is now Acting President, with the responsibility to call a special session of Parliament to elect the new president.
But wait! There's more:
This obviously opens the door for a great deal of chaos and unrest, assuming Parliament is unable to elect a president before the end of the special session. The situation would already be perilous, given the noted inactivity of the government and the tenuous nature of its majority: it is further compounded by Constitutional uncertainties regarding just when (and how) this special session begins.
Section 3(b) of the Constitution instructs the Speaker to "preside over" a special session of Parliament in the event of a presidential vacancy, but does not say whether he is responsible for opening the special session or whether it begins automatically at the moment the vacancy occurs, with the Speaker acting as a sort of glorified arbitrator. Assuming that the Speaker is responsible for opening the special session, this would give Parliament a full week to select the new president. Thus, if the Speaker begins the session at noon tomorrow, Parliament would have until noon on 22 December to elect the new president.
The trouble with this interpretation is that it requires us to assume that the timing of the special session is left entirely to the discretion of the Speaker. This means that, hypothetically, the Speaker could continue to postpone the special session until he is removed by the Parliament. With the presidency still vacant,
the Speaker would therefore continue to serve as Acting President indefinitely as the nation awaits an election that only he has the authority to call.
The second interpretation of 3(b) - that the special session begins automatically upon the moment that the presidency falls vacant - avoids this unpleasant scenario, but creates a problem of its own. Because former President Hagrid's term ended on 10 December (four days ago), Parliament would have
less than three (3) days (!!!) to elect the new president before the Acting President is forced to dissolve Parliament and call for new elections. Given the lamentable inactivity of the national legislature, you will forgive me for doubting that the government is up to the task.
So, in a nutshell, South America now faces either "Eternal President Simfan" or "The Great Election Scramble of 2015," depending on your interpretation of the Constitution.