Presidential Versus Parliamentary

It is a known fact that a government is a group of individuals which makes up the power behind the rules and laws that are followed by the people under it. It has the authority to create and implement these laws covering every aspect of human existence, from civil to religious, from corporate to academic, as well as other organizations or groups. This paper aims to set out various characteristics of two systems of governance that prevail in most countries - Presidential and Parliamentary. Though both are promulgated under the democratic form of government, these two different systems comprise diverse outlines of political organization that influence the governance process as a whole. We will distinguish the major differences as well as provide concrete examples through two different countries - Great Britain (UK) and Mexico.

Comparison

• Leader

A Presidential System is a government wherein the active head of the Executive Branch is the President. The President is elected by the people and remains in office autonomously of the Legislative Branch. A Parliamentary System on the other hand has many roles divided within the system. One of this is the Prime Minister as the active head of the Executive Branch as well as the leader of the Legislative Branch.

Great Britain
- A constitutional monarchy, headed by a hereditary monarch (King or Queen) who must belong to the Church of England
- Control of the government rests in the Parliament, consisting of the House of Commons, the House of the Lords and the crown.
- Actual power is in the hand of the Commons, having 646 members all elected from single-member constituencies.

Mexico
- A Republic whose chief of state and the head of the government is the President (Executive Branch)
- Consists of two Legislative Houses: the Senate/Congress (128 seats) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies (500 seats).
- It has a Judicial Branch (The Supreme Court of Justice) whose members are judges appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate.

•Electoral and Service Terms

The terms in the Presidential System is more fixed and stable as Elections are carried out in the same time for the same fixed period (Electoral year depends on the country). In this system, the President (the head of the government) is usually chosen and/or elected directly by the people of the state or any set of electors apart from the Legislative Branch. Presidential impeachment is also possible in this system though a strong and valid evidence of wrong acts is required.

In the Parliamentary System, the head of the government, the Prime Minister is in almost all cases not directly elected by the people of the state. There are times that the people are not even aware and will just be caught by surprise when someone becomes the head of the government overnight. It is in this system that the head of the government is elected by the Legislative Branch or the Head of the State (Monarch) under the powerful influence of the party leadership. Unlike the Presidential System, a Prime Minister can be removed from his office in the basis of unpopularity and/or policy failure.

Great Britain
- The Executive Branch is usually drawn from the most popular party in the Commons (having the most seats) with the Monarch asking the leader of the majority party to be the Prime Minister
- Elections should be carried out at least once in 5 years.
- The Prime Minister may request the Monarch to dissolve the Parliament and call for a new election.
- Prime Minister Thatcher was removed from her office by the British Conservative Party in 1990 because of policy failure.

Mexico
- The President Election is held every six years, with the President winning the office by a popular vote (people of the state)
- Senate members also serve their seats for six years while the Chamber of Deputies members serve for 3 years.
- Former Mexican President Vicente Fox left his office in December 2006 before an impeachment could take place; due to allegations of him being derelict in allowing political unrest to explode in one of the Mexican states as well as his alleged interference in the July 2006 Elections.

• Duties and Functions

In the Presidential System, the President's power is limited due to an increase in the powers of both the local government and the Supreme Court. This is due to the idea of having a system of checks and balances in all area of the government. The President usually functions on a different level from the Legislative (Congress). Different countries vary in the degree of power that the President has over the Congress. In the Parliamentary System, there is a no clear separation of powers between the legislative and the executive departments leading to a different set of checks and balances in the government. The Prime Ministers and the Cabinet members are authorized to exercise executive power everyday. Actual power is usually bestowed in the head of state (Monarch), with enough reserve powers.

Great Britain
- The political leader of Great Britain, the Prime Minister, is the wielder of executive powers in the government under the ticket of the Royal Prerogative (monarch) - The Prime Minister and the Cabinet members are liable for their decisions actions to the supreme legislative body

Mexico
- The supreme power of the federation is divided into legislative, executive and judicial branches.
- As part of his executive power, the President enforces all federal legislative enactments throughout Mexico as well as introducing legislative bills to the Congress

Conclusion

Most systems of governance are primarily based in a nation's history and culture. Depending on its constituents' preference, they can adapt to any form of government that their history leads them into. Though Presidential and Parliamentary systems of governance differ in most ways and have proven to have both advantages and disadvantages to both the leaders and its constituents, they are fully embraced and accepted by all concern due to the fact that these people know that their cultural preferences determine how their government must be run.

References

1. Chapter 3: Comparing executives: presidential and parliamentary systems - http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/current_students/programme_resources/lse/lse_pdf/further_units/82_comp_pol/82_comparative_politics_ch3_2007.pdf

2. Presidential and Parliamentary Systems - http://www.collegeresearch.us/show_essay/21547.html

3. Presidential and Parliamentary forms of government the advantages and disadvantages - http://www.collegeresearch.us/show_essay/52287.html

4. Encyclopedia-Great Britain - Government - http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/world/A0858457.html

5. About Mexico History and Mexico Government - http://www.mexico.us/history.htm