Compare and Contrast - Essay Example

US and UK Elections Election shall mean any wide or local primary, special, joint, or general election at which registered voters of the or the political subdivision holding the election by ballot choose public officials or decide any questions and propositions lawfully submitted to them (law.justia.com, Election) American electoral system was developed from English thinking. However there are significant differences between the two on how they elect their leaders. The British system of electing their leaders is called a parliamentary system.

The US elects its leaders by using another system called presidential system. Under the parliamentary system, legislature may remove the government via approval of a vote of no-confidence. In presidential system, the government and the legislature served fixed and independent terms in office. Under the Presidential system, the President is both the chief executive and the head of state. The powers invested in the President are usually balanced against those vested in the legislature (www.essortment.

com, Parliamentary versus Presidential Governments). In the American presidential system, the legislature must debate and pass various bills (www.essortment.com, Parliamentary versus Presidential Governments). The most outstanding difference between presidential and parliamentary systems is the election of their chief executive. In parliamentary systems, the chief executive is chosen by the legislature and not by the people, while in presidential systems, the legislatures are free to vote their choice with fewer consequences from their party.

Both the Americans and the Englishmen have two houses. In UK, the two houses are called House of Commons and House of Lords. In the British electoral system, the House of Commons is the critical player (Adkns, 2009). It is the counterpart of the House of Representatives in US (Freeman, 2008). In United Kingdom the House of Lords has 574 life peers, 92 hereditary peers, and 26 bishops and the House of Commons has 651 popularly elected members (www.infoplease.com, United Kingdom). In 1911, the House of Lords was stripped of most of its power and now its main function is to revise legislation (www.

infoplease.com, United Kingdom). Hundreds of hereditary peers were expelled in an effort to make the body more democratic in November 1999 (www.infoplease.com, United Kingdom). In US, these two houses are known as House of Senate and House of Representatives. The US Congress in divided into these two houses. The Senate is sometimes called the upper chamber and the House of Representatives is the lower chamber because the Founders thought that different sorts of people would be elected to these two bodies (www.

cliffnotes.com, The Two Houses of Congress). The members lower house of chamber are elected every two years. The Senators were originally chosen by state legislatures and elected every six years. In the Presidential system of the US, the President is both the head of state and the head of government (Adkns, 2009). The President is elected indirectly through the Electoral College and held every four years. In UK, election occurs at changing times. When a particular party believes they are popular enough to win, the members can call an election but limited to have an election every five years (Adkns, 2009).

Seats can occasionally be vacated thus will result to an election. If a party with a greatest number of seats in the parliament changes, a vote of no confidence will happen and a general election will be called (Adkns, 2009). Every local constituency is represented by each member of the parliament. This is to ensure that there is an equitable representation in the Parliament. The voters do not specifically vote for the Prime Minister, they vote for their members of Parliament. British electoral system is noticeably less direct.

Because the election of Prime Minister is done by the elected members of the Parliament, the party that controls the largest number of seats will elect the leader of their party to be the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister who is the head of government is always a member of the party with the highest number of members in the Parliament while the Monarch, who the head of state, his powers are limited severely to ceremonial functions (Adkns, 2009). The US and UK systems do have one important factor in common.

In both American system and British system, the results are calculated as winner take all or first past the post (Adkns, 2009). Many countries typically use the parties’ percentage votes in granting seats. This proportional representation has lead many countries to multi party systems. The British and US models have caused on the contrary in traditionally two party systems. Though these two countries use the parliamentary and presidential systems of government, both are practicing democracy.

Whatever they do, their governments are left to challenge of avoiding anarchy and running their nation in good hands. Reference: Adkns, Marty. Comparing the Election Process: US vs England, (January 29, 2009). Web. 27 April 2011 “Elections.” Law.justia.com. Web. 27 April 2011 Freeman, Tom. British Government: an American’s Guide, (February 7, 2008). Web. 26 April 2011 “Parliamentary versus Presidential Governments.” www.essortment.com. Web. April 27, 2011 “The Two Houses of Congress.” www.cliffsNotes.com. Web.

27 April 2011 “United Kingdom.” www.infoplease.com. Web. 28 April 2011