President System Vs Parliament System

Presidential Government VS Parliamentary Government

Canada and the U.S. are ruled under two different political systems of government which are parliamentary government and presidential government. These two government systems are the most fundamental and dominant government methods in the world. The main issue and debate that has been concerned is that which form of government is more superior to the other. It will provide on the characteristics of parliamentary system and also characteristics of the presidential system. Moreover, comparison of main elements of these two systems will be examined as well. Contemporary examples from both the Canadian and the U.S system will be illustrated to strengthen main differences. This paper will argue on the debate between presidential and parliamentary system, and will prove that form of presidential government is more superior to the parliamentary system. The supportive statements will be provided throughout this essay.

There are certain features on parliamentary government and presidential government. Parliamentary system, according to Warwick, “[is] also known as parliamentarianism, is equated with Westminster variant, which, in its pure form, envisages a single, highly disciplined party in firm control of both the executive and the legislative branches of government” (Warwick, 2006, p.1). The origin of parliamentary government can be dated back to the government that started in kingdom of Great Britain during the 17th and 18th century. Several countries gradually adopted and reformed the system to best align with their political background (Dyck, 2006). The parliament usually consists of two chambers which are elected lower house and upper house. The representatives in the lower house are elected directly by the public as their political representatives, but the senate in the upper house are appointed or elected by using different methods from the lower house (“UNDP’s WWW Governance”.n.d.). The prime minister, the head of government is nominated from the majority party in the parliament. He/she is not directly elected by public in the election process. Also in event of dismissal by vote of no confidence in parliament, the public is not directly related in this matter. Therefore new election can be held by political parties in parliament to appoint new prime minister and his/her cabinet (Reestman, 2006 & Dyck, 2006). The prime minister has a power that can dismiss the parliament when the prime minister perceives a low influence in the parliament, only under agreement with the head of state. The power given to the prime minister can be very influential, because he/she can select the election date that brings the best chance of winning the election for its party. Therefore he/she can maintain its authority and power over the parliament and executive (Bradshaw, 1981). The dual executive is one of characteristics in parliamentary system. The head of government is given to the prime minister, but the head of state is awarded by the monarch or president. In Canada, the head of government is the prime minister, but the head of state (governor general) is appointed by the monarch of Great Britain. It is important to distinguish the roles of the head of government and the head of state. The prime minister, the head of government, has the power and authority to make and execute political decisions. On the other hand, the monarch or president, the head of state, is a symbolical figure of the state and has ceremonial power (Dyck, 2006 & Reestman, 2006). It seems that the prime minister in the parliamentary system only conducts political work. However, the main role of the monarch or president is to be a symbolical figure to the public. This appears to be an inefficient way of splitting of roles because the prime minister can hardly be identified as political leader by public, but it can alleviate the prime minister’s national responsibility and burden. The fusion of power between the legislative and executive branch is main characteristic of parliamentary government (“UNDP’s WWW Governance” n.d.). The prime minister can determine the ministers in each ministry (Johnson, 2004). The head of government has certain degree of authority and freedom to delegate to its ministers, and it can lead the government to more stable political situation because fusion of power between the ministries and prime minister is achieved. Prime ministers can also nominate members of the cabinet but their functions are not just limited to advisory and consultative. The members must decide collectively broad matters of policy, involving foreign affairs, finance, and other issues of concern to the entire government (Hitchner, 1970). The collective body of cabinets reduces the role of prime minister and his executive power.

The presidential government has distinctive characteristics compared to parliamentary system. According to Hargrove, “presidential government can be defined as by nature, single-person office, chosen for a fixed term by a uniquely national constituency, sharing virtually all the powers of the federal government with an equally distinct and independent congress” (Hargrove, 1984). The president, who is directly elected by public, is head of the government and also head of the state. It appears that the president has full support from public and also symbolizes the national representative and unifying figure. The “separation of power” and “check and balance” are main features in the presidential form of government. According to Abueva, “legislative power is vested in Congress (Senate and House of Representatives), executive power in the President, and judicial power in the Supreme Court and lower courts” (Abueva, 2005). He also mentioned that “this form of government is based on the principle of separation of powers and checks and balance among the three branches of government” (Abueva, 2005). Unlike the parliamentary system, power is strictly divided among three branches; the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. Therefore it allows the power balance among these three branches and also being independent from other branches. Since the branches are independent from each other, the president is not responsible for the legislative decision and the president does not have any authority to dismiss the congress. The president is elected directly by public and is directly responsible for them. The election process is held within certain period of time, and general population, certain qualifications such as age. They have the responsibility to vote for the president to reflect their political belief and thought. For given set of time, presidency is secured