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Differences between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems
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Topic Content:
- Differences between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems
Below are the differences between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems in a tabulated form:
Presidential Vs. Parliamentary System:
| S/n | Presidential | Parliamentary |
| 1. | President is the Head of Government. | The President or Monarch is the Head of State and the Prime Minister the Head of Government. |
| 2. | The President is popularly elected through direct or indirect election by through election by the people in the state. | The Head of Government is appointed by the Head of State from the majority party in the parliament. |
| 3. | There is the existence of separation of powerThis refers to the division of a democratic government into different arms of government, i.e the Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary, each to perform their administrative duties and responsibilities without undue infringement... More. | There is the existence of fusion of power. Members of the executiveThe executive, also referred to as the executive branch or executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law and has overall responsibility... More are part of the legislatureThe legislative branch of government is responsible for making laws within a country. Legislatures are made up of people called legislators who, in democracies, are elected by the country’s population More. |
| 4. | The ministers are individually responsible to the president who appointed them. | The cabinet, including the Prime Minister, is collectively responsible to the legislature. |
| 5. | Members of the executive cannot be members of the legislature. | The executive is part of the legislature. |
| 6. | The constitutionA constitution is a set of fundamental rules that determine how a country or state is run. More is supreme. | The parliament is supreme. |
| 7. | The political office holders have a fixed tenure. | The Prime Minister and his cabinet stay in office as long as they have popular support in the parliament. |
| 8. | The President can be removed from office through the impeachmentImpeachment is the process of bringing charges against a government official for wrongdoing. A trial may be held, and the official may be removed from office. More process. | The Prime Minister and his cabinet can be removed from office through a vote of no confidencea vote showing that a majority does not support the policy of a leader or governing body. More. |
| 9. | Official opposition party is not constitutionally recognized. | Official opposition party is constitutionally recognized and given a role. |
| 10. | The president can appoint his ministers from anywhere. | Prime Minister appoints ministers from his party in the parliament. |
| 11. | The USA is a good example of a country operating a Presidential system of government. Brazil, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria are other examples. | Britain is a good example of a country operating a cabinet System of government. Others include India, Australia, Pakistan, Thailand and Bangladesh. |