The most popular models are the presidential system and the parliamentary system. Both systems are democracies, meaning that citizens have the power to make governmental decisions through their vote. It is critical for citizens to understand the differences between these two systems of government so that they understand the full potential of their votes, as well as their representation.
Presidential systems have an executive branch that consists solely of the president. The president is an individual elected by citizens to be head of government and state for a maximum of two terms in office. The President is independent of the legislative branch.
Some common responsibilities of the president are to:. In contrast, parliamentary systems have a clear distinction between the head of government and head of state. In this system, the head of government and parliament is the Prime Minister. Rather than participating in a general election, Parliament elects the Prime Minister. Citizens elect the members of Parliament. Additionally, Parliament makes up the legislative branch of government.
The Prime Minister typically has no limit to the time they can stay in office. However, he or she has risen to become the leader of the political party that ends up winning the most seats in the House of Commons, or has formed a coalition with another party to create a majority.
Prime Ministers recruit their cabinets from among their legislative team. As such, a Prime Minister is like a CEO, with support from his or her management team, who devises and passes policies and laws on behalf of his or her voters. Furthermore, the parliamentary structure is self-purging. Prime Ministers and their parties serve at the pleasure of the public as long as they maintain control.
If they lose their majority in a vote on an important issue, like a proposed annual budget, this is considered a non-confidence motion and an election ensues immediately. But getting rid of a President, even if guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, is nearly impossible. The process involves an arduous impeachment inquiry and vote by the House of Representatives and then a trial in the Senate where two-thirds must approve removal.
This near-unanimity threshold is difficult to achieve and the process takes months or years, during which time society is roiled, government is immobilized, misdeeds can continue, and rancor rises.
This has occurred three times in two generations. The American model is rooted in conflict and division whereas the Canadian one, due to the need to hold a majority together in order to govern, leads to consensus and compromise. This necessity results in disciplined, cohesive political parties whose members are forced to toe the party line or face expulsion from the caucus.
In the United States, the Democrats and Republicans are not parties in the parliamentary sense. They are coalitions of convenience for entrepreneurial politicians who seek party branding in order to get on ballots or to get financing. This, in turn, opens up more fronts of political warfare: the Senate versus the House, the President versus one or both, and dozens of partisans against one another. And voters are often ignored in between elections. There is government funding for parties during elections in the form of a per-vote subsidy based on the previous election results and reimbursement of more than half of their election expenses.
There are also strict advertising restrictions and campaign contribution limits imposed on individuals, unions, corporations, and special interest groups. This liberates candidates and their parties from burdensome fundraising, which, in turn, limits influences by outside interests. Only a member of Parliament can be appointed as part of the executive.
There is no strict separation of powers between the executive and legislature as it is present in the presidential form of government. Therefore, in a parliamentary system, the executive and the legislature is so closely related that sometimes it becomes difficult to separate their functions. One of the key features that differentiate the presidential and parliamentary system is that in latter the executive is responsible to the legislature.
The executive loses its power when it loses confidence in the Lok Sabha. Legislature makes the laws and then relies on the executive for its implementation which practices delegated legislation. One of the prerequisites for this form of government is the secrecy of the cabinet meetings and the discussions held therein.
In fact, even in the oath taken by the Ministers, they promise to keep faith and secrecy as given in Article 75 of the constitution. As per Article 74 2 of the Constitution, the advice given by the Council of Ministers can be inquired in any court of India which ensures secrecy.
India has a dual executive means it has two executives — the real and the titular. The titular or nominal executive is the head of the state i. Legally all the powers and privileges are conferred on the President as per different law and constitution but in practice, all these powers are enjoyed by the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.
The President in India works on the aid and advice given by the Council of Ministers. The president can return the suggestion for reconsideration, but if the same suggestion is sent to him with or without changes, he is bound to accept it.
This makes the President somewhere bound by the advice given by the Ministers and work according to them. The leader in the Parliamentary form of government is the Prime Minister. He is the leader of the majority party in Lok Sabha. He is also the head of the government and is selected through elections held through universal adult franchise. In a Parliamentary System, the term or the duration of the ruling government is not fixed.
They are dependent on confidence in the lower house. If anyone of the Council of Ministers resigns or the majority party is not able to prove its confidence in the house then the government falls.
After that new election will be conducted and the party having a majority of the members in Lok sabha forms the government. In normal circumstances the tenure of the government is for 5 years and after that election are held again. So Bicameral Legislature is the system of having two legislative or judicial chambers. Generally one of the houses is more powerful than the other.
Many parliamentary democracies have the practice to follow bicameralism. In India, at the center level, it has two houses Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha to deliberate and discusses policies, laws, and issues of national importance.
Though not all states in India have their respective legislative council as many argue that just like the Rajya Sabha, the State Council does not perform many functions and poses stress on state finances. The advantages or merits of a Parliamentary System are as follows:. In a Parliamentary system, the executive is part of the legislature and usually, the majority party has a stronghold in the parliament which makes it easier for the law and policies to be passed and implemented.
We can see a lot more coordination in the parliamentary system as compared to the presidential system as the organs of the government is strictly separated from each other. The possibility of disputes and conflict is reduced as the party enjoys a majority in the lower house.
In the legislature, all other members raise questions which are matters of public interest and national importance. Through this process, there can be checks on the activities of the government.
The opposition needs to be strong enough to point out the mistakes and inefficiency of the ruling government. This makes the majority party accountable and hence responsible for their duties and actions in general.
Many countries in the world have people living from different backgrounds, cultures, religions, races, and gender. The Parliamentary system is suited best to accommodate all these diverse groups as every group is represented in the legislature. In this way, the interests and demands of various groups can be discussed at a big platform and a solution can be found out more effectively.
With a country like India which was in a very fragile state after independence, it was important to adopt a system that was tried and tested and was familiar to the people. In our country, we see people from various groups coming together in parliament and discussing matters to promote and preserve the interests of all of them. The Prime Minister can be removed from power very easily as compared to the Presidential system in which generally the President serves the entire term and can be replaced only through impeachment and incapacity which is a time-consuming process.
If the demands that were promised by the ruling party before the elections are not fulfilled the parliament may pass a no-confidence motion and the government can be replaced. In the Presidential System, we see a concentration of power primarily with the President. He has the authority to choose members of the cabinet. On the other hand in the Parliamentary system power is divided among the council of ministers and the ruling party does not become all-powerful the government may resign if a vote of no confidence is passed against them.
There are many institutions that keep vigilance on the activities of the government. The demerits of the Parliamentary System are as follows:. As there is no true separation of powers in this system, the legislature cannot always blame the executive for the non-implementation of policies. Especially when the government has a majority in the legislature. Additionally because of factors relating to anti-defection laws legislators cannot exercise their will power and vote as per their understanding and opinions.
They have to consider and follow the party whip. Many times situations where people who just want to fill executive positions enter the legislature also. They are not even qualified or ratherly properly acquainted with their jobs. Most of them are not even familiar with the laws of their country. Parliamentary system is not stable as the government may fall anytime as compared to the Presidential system. There is no fixed tenure of the government. The moment no confidence motion is passed in the house the government will be replaced with a new government.
It can happen by a mere political disagreement between the party members. Thus the Prime Minister has to depend on the support from the party members or any other party in the parliament. Coalition governments are mainly transitory and unstable. Therefore the majority party concentrates more on having support in the house rather than on the welfare of the society. It can hamper the implementation of laws and policies as the policy started by the previous government may not be much supported and carried on by the new government in power.
The government is scared to take bold and long term decisions. This may affect the welfare of the nation and its people. In the parliamentary system party, politics is very evident where politicians are motivated by self-interest more than national interest.
The Multi-party system is more popular in the Parliamentary system than the Presidential system as they use the method of proportional representation. Many parties compete with each other in elections and each party has a chance of winning the election. Every system whether it is Presidential or Parliamentary has its own pros and cons. It is upon the government of a particular country to decide the system which will be most suited for their country.
Every country is different in its structure, population and culture, it is important to identify the needs of the country. If we see a larger picture then there are mainly these two forms.
Many nations in the world have chosen one of them with some changes. We also see new trends and conventions. Many countries have changed their political system from democratic to monarchy but it is remarkable that India even after 72 years of independence has stayed a democratic country having a republican head and a strong constitution.
It is considered as one of the largest democracies in the world.
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