section_path: Powers
section_name: Powers
paragraph_text: Powers
  
  Article 126 paragraph 1 states that the president is the supreme representative of the state, rather than the people, a privilege reserved for the deputies of the Sejm and senators of the Senate. The constitution confirms for the president the role of securing the continuity of state authority. The position of the presidency has an arbiter function (while not directly mentioned, unlike France or Romania), with the president playing a major role in the political system, assisted by a set of legal instruments with which they can exert influence on the organs of state authority and the political system.
  
  The president has a free choice in selecting the prime minister, yet in practice they usually give the task of forming a new government to a politician supported by the political party with the majority of seats in the Sejm (usually, though not always, it is the leader of that political party).
  
  The president has the right to initiate the legislative process. They also have the opportunity to directly influence it by using their veto to stop a bill; however, a veto can be overruled by a three-fifths majority vote in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of members of the Sejm (230). Before signing a bill into law, the president can also ask the Constitutional Tribunal to verify its compliance with the Constitution, which in practice bears a decisive influence on the legislative process.
  
  In their role as supreme representative of the Polish state, the president has the power to ratify and revoke international agreements, nominates and recalls ambassadors, and formally accepts the accreditations of representatives of other states. The president also makes decisions on award of highest academic titles, as well as state distinctions and orders. In addition, they have the right of clemency, viz. they can dismiss final court verdicts (in practice, the president consults such decisions with the minister of justice).
  
  The president is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces; they appoint the chief of the general staff and the commanders of all of the service branches; in wartime, they nominate the supreme commander of the Armed Forces and can order a general mobilisation. The president performs their duties with the help of the following offices: the Chancellery of the President, the Office of National Security, and the Body of Advisors to the President.