An incumbent officer (or official) is any player who has been appointed or elected to an office specified in the rules. A Judge is not an officer.
An incumbent official may be replaced by another player (the "challenger") if that player makes a proposal to replace the officer with him or herself, and that proposal passes. The action of making this proposal constitutes "running for office."
An officer may resign at any time, provided he or she appoints a successor. If an officer resigns while a challenger is running for his office, the challenger becomes the new officer.
If an enacted proposal creates an office without specifying how the initial officeholder is to be chosen, then a randomly selected player shall fill that office.
This rule defers to rules for specific offices.