TITLE III. THE EXECUTIVE POWER CHAPTER I. COMPOSITION OF THE EXECUTIVE Article 53: The Executive is composed of the President of the Republic, the Vice President of the Republic and the Government. CHAPTER II. THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC Article 54: The President of the Republic is the Head of State. He is the embodiment of national unity. He ensures respect for the Constitution. He ensures the continuity of the State. He is the guarantor of national independence, of the integrity of the territory and of respect for international commitments. Article 55: The President of the Republic is elected for five years by direct universal suffrage. He may be re-elected only once. He chooses a vice-president of the Republic, who is elected concurrently with him. The candidate for the presidential election should be in possession of his civil and political rights and should be at least thirty-five years old. He must be exclusively of Ivoirian nationality, born of a father or mother who is of Ivoirian origin. Article 56: The President of the Republic and the Vice-President of the Republic are elected by majority list in two rounds. The election of the President of the Republic and the Vice-President of the Republic is by the absolute majority of votes cast. The first round of voting takes place on the last Saturday of the month of October in the fifth year of the term of the President of the Republic and the Vice-President of the Republic in office. If the absolute majority is not obtained in the first round, a second round is taken. Only the two lists of candidates with the highest number of votes cast in the first round may be presented. The second round is held on the last Saturday of November in the fifth year of the President of the Republic and the Vice-President of the Republic in office. The list of candidates with the highest number of votes is elected in the second round. In case of a tie between the two lists of candidates in the second round, the list of candidates having obtained the highest number of votes cast in the first round is declared elected. The convocation of the electors is made by decree in the Council of Ministers. Article 57: If, before the first round, one of the candidates from a list of candidates selected by the Constitutional Council is incapacitated or dies, the Constitutional Council may declare the postponement of the election within seventy-two hours from the time of the referral by the independent Commission responsible for the elections. In the event of the death or absolute incapacity of the candidate for the presidency of the Republic on one of the two lists of candidates who came first after the first round, the Chairman of the independent Commission responsible for the elections refers the matter to the Constitutional Council immediately, which decides, within seventy-two hours from the time of its referral, the postponement of the election. In both cases, the election of the President of the Republic and the Vice-President of the Republic is held within a period that may not exceed thirty days from the decision of the Constitutional Council. Article 58: After the final proclamation of the results by the Constitutional Council, the President-elect of the Republic takes the oath of office, on the Constitution before the Constitutional Council, in a formal sitting. The Vice-President of the Republic attends the swearing-in ceremony.