Yes, it's that time again: time for the root of all Debian-based distributions — that'd be Debian, of course — to pick a fresh face from its ranks to take on the mantle of the powers-that-be.

The Debian Project Leader is, according to the project itself, "the official representative of the Debian Project." The position is one of "coordination and communication," both to and with other organizations, as well as within the project itself. The Leader is selected by a vote of the Debian developers — a simple majority being required for election — and serves for a one-year term, the most recent of which will come to a close on April 17th.

In light of the imminent end-of-term, the project has now begun the search for the next Fearless Leader, opening nominations by way of an email from Debian Project Secretary Kurt Roeckx. Interested parties — who must be a Debian Developer — have until this Saturday (March 7th) to nominate themselves by sending a cryptographically-signed email to the project's debian-vote list. They must also submit their campaign platform to the Project Secretary — candidates are suggested to submit a biography/introduction, a goal for the term as Project Leader, and once all of the candidate's platforms are available, a rebuttal of — presumably — anything that needs rebutting.

As in previous years, a debate amongst the candidates will be held during the last week of campaigning (March 21st - March 28th), though a specific date has yet to be determined. Voting is scheduled to begin March 29th and run until April 11th — the results, and any other details that may emerge, will be posted to the project's Project Leader Elections 2009 page. Those intending to run should acquaint themselves with the Debian Constitution & the Project Leader's job description, and considering it's already March 4th, get to nominating!