Parliament
vs.
President
SS6CG1, SS6CG4, SS6CG6
The student will compare and contrast various forms of government.
(c) Describe the two predominant forms of democratic governments:
parliamentary and presidential.
Parliament
President
Which is better?
There are two predominant
forms of democratic
governments:
Parliamentary
Presidential
The main difference between
the Parliamentary and
Presidential systems is the
relationship between the
executive (carries out the laws)
and the legislative (makes the
laws) branches of government.
Parliamentary
* The legislature (Parliament) controls the power.
* The majority party in the legislature forms a
government headed by a prime minister, who is
chosen by the legislature.
* The prime minister and his cabinet are members of
the legislature, he or she answers to the legislature
(fusion of powers).
fusion of powers = executive and legislative branches are mixed, share power
Parliamentary
continued…
* The government will stay in office for a specified
period unless the prime minister loses support of the
majority in the legislature on an important vote, if this
happens the prime minister must resign and elections
are held immediately.
Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom
David Cameron
Parliamentary continued…
Voters
elect
Parliament
(Legislative)
Judicial
Chosen by
Majority Party
Prime Minister
Presidential
* The executive and legislative branches are
separate bodies elected independently by the
citizens (separation of powers).
separation of powers = division of the branches of government
* There are checks and balances where each
branch can overrule the other.
Checks and balances = limits each branch’s power, keeps one branch
having too much power
from
Presidential
continued…
* The president answers to the voters, not to the
legislature.
* The people elect the president, and elections
are held at set intervals.
President of the United States
of America
Barack Obama
Separation of powers
division of the branches of government
Legislative Branch = establishes laws
(U.S. Congress)
Executive Branch = carries out, or enforces laws
(U.S. President)
Judicial Branch = makes decisions about disputes
(U.S. Supreme Court)
Presidential continued…
Voters
Legislative
Executive
Judicial
Test on Monday