Parliamentary Versus Presidential System

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Parliamentary Versus Presidential System of Government

Parliamentary and presidential systems are the two dominant forms of democratic

government. There has been a raging debate as to which form of government is superior to the

other since a seminal article published by Juan J. Linz titled “The Perils of Presidentialism.” In

this short essay, I will argue that a parliamentary system of democratic government is superior to

a presidential system. In the first paragraph, I will briefly outline the main characteristics of both

the parliamentary and presidential systems. Then in the next paragraph, I will highlight with

supporting institutional facts as to why a parliamentary system is better than a presidential

system. In the conclusion, I will restate the main points of my argument.

The president is the head of both the government and the state in a presidential system.

As the chief executive officer of the government, the president supervises the undertakings of the

government and is expected to carry out certain responsibilities such as establishing the yearly

financial plan, validating or rejecting laws passed by the parliament, the appointment of

administrators and advisers to assist in government management. The presidential system also

separates the president from the legislative organ. It splits the legislative and administrative roles

of the government hence offer checks and balances to constrain the authority of both the

president and the parliament. Further, in a presidential system, the president and the members of

parliament are chosen independently by the citizens. On the other hand, the parliamentary system

formulates responsibilities of the head of government and head of state which are held by distinct

individuals. For instance, a state may have a monarch or president who assumes the role of head

of state, and a prime minister who take responsibility for leading the government. Moreover, the

chief executive like the prime minister is included in the legislative body or parliament.

Additionally, in such a system the members of parliament are elected by the citizens who in turn

are mandated to appoint one legislature amongst them to be the president.

A parliamentary system is better than a presidential system. There is overwhelming proof

for the parliamentary system. First, all prosperous nations except the US, which has a

presidential system, have adopted a parliamentary system. Parliamentary states lead in several

indices such as human development and corruption perception index. Political disruptions such

as coup d’états, assassinations, revolutions and political grumble tend to be less. Additionally,

the parliamentary system provides for accountability measures through shadow cabinet that acts

as watchdogs of the public interest. Such a cabinet also restrains the autocracy of the popular

party. Moreover, a parliamentarian form of government is more efficient with parameters to

thwart autocratic or dictatorial leadership. The parliamentary form of government also articulates

to the cardinal principle of democracy that states that “the government should be for the people

and by the people.” The above canon is fulfilled because the popular party is voted by the

citizens of the nation as representatives of their collective resolve, therefore presenting them with

an authentic voice in their regime. Parliamentary system also features a more efficient

meritocratic government structure than the presidential system. It has an integrated mechanism

for removal of a crummy leader by either the party, the head of state or vote of no confidence. In

contrast, the only legal option available in presidential system is through the bureaucratic

procedures of impeachment which in most cases result to coup d’état.

In conclusion, parliamentary systems are less prone to corruption, more efficient, stable,

accountable, and provide leaders with quality leadership qualities. It provides checks and

balances and protects the country from becoming autocratic. A majority of the successful

countries has embraced the parliamentary systems safe for the US.

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Parliamentary versus presidential system

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Our customers say

Jeff Curtis

Ian McGregor

Shannon Williams