Systems of Governance - Essay Example

Presidential Government vs. Parliamentary Government Presidential Government vs. Parliamentary Government Introduction Every democracy has a political system that supports governance and administration of people and activities within its boundaries. This gives rise to different systems of governance, with the three key types in existent being the parliamentary system of governance, the presidential system of governance, as well as the hybrid system of governance. A government in such case refers to the agency, machinery, or political organization that facilitates exercise of politics within the country. As such, the government administers and controls public policies for the welfare of the citizens, as well as controlling and directing its subjects’ or its members’ actions. Some of the critical roles performed by the government include making laws, regulating economies, conducting cordial relationships with neighboring countries, provision of services and developing infrastructure, as well as the maintenance of the armed forces, and the police force on behalf of the citizens of the country (Bardes, Shelly and Schmidt, 2008). A presidential system of government refers to a governance system whereby the president leads the executive arm of the government, and as such, serves as the Head of States and Head of Government. A government usually has three arms, the Executive branch composed of the president and his or her cabinet, the Legislature composed of the members of parliament or congress, and the Judiciary, which is the legal branch of every government. All these branches of government are independent of function from one another but co-ordinate their operations in order to facilitate the smooth running of government. On the other hand, a parliamentary system of government is a governance structure whereby the cabinet has all the executive powers and rallies a Prime Minister as the leader. However, all the members of the cabinet are answerable to the legislature either as individuals or in a group for their actions or decisions. Characteristics of Presidential and Parliamentary Systems of Governance 1. Separation of powers The extent to which different systems of governance separate their functionality of powers across its three branches determines the nature of each government system. According to Birch (2013), a presidential system divides both administrative and political powers among its three branches, the executive, the judiciary, and the legislature. As such, officials in these branches have to serve their terms of office constitutionally. A parliamentary system of government, on the other hand, vests the executive and sovereign authority on the Prime Minister and the cabinet as endorsed by the legislature. The people make a choice of who is to be their president through a free and fair electoral system under a presidential government. As such, the president becomes the symbolic head of state and answerable to the electorate or voters of the country. The president appoints secretaries of cabinet members who assist him or her in running the government. The presidential system of governance has strict separation of powers whereby the executive branch of government is independent from the legislative arm of government. A good example of a presidential system of government is the Federal Government of the United States of America. Buie and Murray (2012) assert that a parliamentary system of governance does not have separation of powers between the legislature and the executive arms of government. The legislature elects a Prime Ministers from the majority party in parliament, who then appoints Cabinet ministers from the members of parliament belonging to the ruling party. Since the Prime Minister was initially a member of parliament before being elevated to his or her new role, he or she is therefore directly responsible to the legislature, and as such, answerable to that body. As such, the legislature holds supreme power in a parliamentary system of governance with clear differentiation between the head of state and the head of government. The Prime Minister is the head of government, whilst the head of state can be a figurehead, a hereditary monarch, of an elected president. A good example of a parliamentary system of government is the Government of the United Kingdom where the Prime Minister is the head of Government, whilst the Queen of England is the head of state. 2. Legislative – executive terms and removal from office Presidential and parliamentary systems of government differ in the way they bestow power to remove the chief executive from office. A parliamentary system of government links its chief executive’s term in office with the legislature, whereas the case is very different under a presidential system of governance. In most cases, presidents have to serve their electoral term in office as provided by the constitution before seeking re-election from the voters at the end of their terms. The constitution also provides the terms and conditions of a serving president. For instance, the United States constitution allows an elected president to run for two consecutive terms in office, each running four years. The president and members of the legislature seek direct election into office from their electorate for a prescribed electoral term, after which they go back to the voters to seek re-election. The service delivery of an elected official while in office determines his or her chances of winning back his or her seat during the general elections. In an effort to eliminate authoritarian leadership from the executive, some countries have additional constitutional checks and balances in place on the powers bestowed on the president, such as limiting his or her term in office, as is the case in the United States whereby the president cannot serve for two consecutive terms in office (Bardes, Shelly and Schmidt, 2008). A Prime Minister in a parliamentary system of governance can lose his or her seat in two major ways. The first way is through a motion of “no-confidence” usually filed by the opposition. Such a motion demands for a vote within the legislature demonstrating that he legislature does not have any more confidence in the Prime Minister and the cabinet. The executive has to step down in case this vote passes. This removal call for a general election to be held in the country. A second way of removing the Prime Minister from office is through his or her own party members, usually conducted in a setting outside the legislature. A good example of was the removal of Margaret Thatcher from office by her party votes and replaced by John Major during a caucus of the Conservative party. 3. Legislative functions A presidential system of governance formulates its agendas and passes bills to become laws through parliament. In most cases, the legislature has to work closely with the executive in introducing bills to parliament, as is the case when the same party holds power in both arms of government. The executive can equally draft laws and present them to parliament introduced by their parliamentary members on the floor of the house. The executive controls the entire legislative agenda under the parliamentary system of governance, thereby leaving individual legislators with little political power to introduce their personal legislative agendas. As such, the Prime Minister and the cabinet initiate any piece of legislation affecting key areas of government operations, such as the budget or revenue (Buie and Murray, 2012). This locks out legislatures from making any major amendments on the policies or laws presented by the executive. In some cases, party caucuses make important policy decisions as opposed to parliamentary committees and expert groups. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that there is a clear cut different between the parliamentary system of governance and the presidential system of governance. However, the choice of a governance system solely lies in the people of the country on how they want to be governed and enshrined in the constitution of the country. This also goes in line with which system the people feel will provide them a better platform to exercise their democratic rights and to ensure quality service delivery from government. References Bardes, B., Shelly, M., & Schmidt, S. (2008). American Government and Politics Today: The Essentials 2009 - 2010 Edition. Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Birch, A. (2013). British System of Government. London: Routledge. Buie, E., & Murray, D. (2012). Usability in Government Systems: User Experience Design for Citizens and Public Servants. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Read More