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Consul Ordinarius
A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspired) after that of the Roman censor, censor. Each year, the comitia centuriata, Centuriate Assembly elected two consuls to serve jointly for a one-year term. The consuls alternated in holding ''fasces'' – taking turns leading – each month when both were in Rome and a consul's ''imperium'' extended over Rome and all its Roman provinces, provinces. There were two consuls in order to create a check on the power of any individual citizen in accordance with the republican belief that the powers of the former King of Rome, kings of Rome should be spread out into multiple offices. To that end, each consul could veto the actions of the other consul. After the establishment of the Roman Empire, Empire (27 BC), the consuls became mere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Political Office
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-election or not. In some situations, there may not be an incumbent at time of an election for that office or position (ex; when a new electoral division is created), in which case the office or position is regarded as vacant or open. In the United States, an election without an incumbent is referred to as an open seat or open contest. Etymology The word "incumbent" is derived from the Latin verb ''incumbere'', literally meaning "to lean or lay upon" with the present participle stem ''incumbent-'', "leaning a variant of ''encumber,''''OED'' (1989), p. 834 while encumber is derived from the root ''cumber'', most appropriately defined: "To occupy obstructively or inconveniently; to block fill up with what hinders freedom of motion or action; to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
