Update on 2024-04-15
India is a democratic country and the uniqueness of democracy is that people can choose the governing officials to take all the major decisions. India has a representational democracy wherein a representative is elected by the people and he/she makes decisions on behalf of the people.
In a representative democracy, there are 2 forms of Government - "Parliamentary and Presidential".
In the Presidential form of Government, the President is selected as the chief executive by the people and along with the Legislative and Judiciary, is responsible for creating and enforcing the laws.
In the Parliamentary form of democracy which is also known as the Cabinet form of Government, the people of the country elect their representatives to the parliament and the parliament is responsible for taking decisions.
In this article, we shall discuss the different aspects of the difference between parliamentary and presidential Government, definitions, advantages, and disadvantages.
India follows a Parliamentary form of Government along the lines of England. In this type of Government, the majority of representation in the parliament forms the Government. The representatives of the Parliamentary Government are elected by the citizens of the country. The Parliamentary form of Government is also known as the Cabinet form of Government.
The party that gets the highest number of votes from the people forms the government and its leader is elected as the Prime Minister or the Head of Government. The Prime Minister can be removed from their position if there is a vote of no confidence against him/her.
In a Parliamentary form of Government, the Executive and the Legislative powers are merged so that it is easy to pass and implement laws. The parties that get minimum representation form the opposition and question the decisions of the Government.
➥ Executive as a part of the Legislature: The Executive must be a part of the Parliament in order to become a Minister otherwise the appointment of the person as the Minister will not exceed a period of 6 months.
➥ Prime Minister as the Real Executive: The Prime Minister is the Head of the Government with the Council of Ministers from the ruling Government.
➥ Bicameral Legislature: Parliamentary democracies like India follow the bicameral Legislature in which the members of the lower house elected by the people can be dissolved in case of the absence of an absolute majority. The decision of dissolve the lower house can be taken by the President.
➥ Civil Service: The Civil Service members have been selected through Merit-based exams and their role is to implement the decisions of the Government. The Civil Service members continue even when a new Government is elected.
➥ Secrecy Policy: The difference between the parliamentary and Presidential forms of Government is that in a parliamentary form, the Government maintains secrecy in policymaking and in conducting meetings and proceedings.
➥ Dual Executive: In this form of Government, there are two Executives- Titular Executive and the Real Executive. The President is the titular Executive and the Prime Minister or the Head of Government is the Real Executive.
➥ Role of Opposition: The opposition plays an important role in controlling the mistakes of the ruling party and maintaining their accountability to the citizens.
In the Presidential form of Government, the Head of the State or the Executive is the President. The President is elected by the members of the electoral college that comprises the members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Legislative Assemblies of the State, and the Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry.
The President is elected for a fixed time period and cannot be removed from office under any circumstances. In a Presidential form of Government, all three branches- Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary are separate and cannot dissolve each other.
The Legislature enforces the laws, the judiciary exercises the laws, and the Chief Executive or the President enforces the laws.
Difference Between Parliamentary and Presidential Forms of Government
Categories |
Parliamentary Government |
Presidential Government |
Three organs of Government |
Coordination between the Executive and Legislative while the Judiciary works independently. |
Separation of powers between Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary. |
Separation of powers |
No separation of power and there is harmony in the working of the Executive and the Legislative |
Powers and ways of working of Executive and Legislative are strictly separated and these bodies work independently of each other |
Executive |
The Prime Minister is the actual Head of the Government and takes all major decisions along with the Cabinet of Ministers. The President is the nominal head. |
The President is the real Executive and there is no difference between the actual head and the nominal head. |
Cabinet |
The Cabinet of Ministers is responsible for formulating policies and taking all the major decisions for the country. |
The Cabinet is an advisory body and all the major decisions of the country are taken by the President. |
Accountability |
The Executive and the Legislature work in harmony and hence they are accountable to each other. |
The Executive and the Legislative are separate and hence do not work in harmony. |
Tenure |
The serving tenure of the Executive and the Legislature is not fixed. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet MInisters have to step down from power if they fail to get the majority of support from the house. The chances of falling of the Government take place more in the case of a coalition. |
The time duration of the Executive and the Legislative is fixed and the President cannot be removed from power until the full tenure is over. |
Division of powers |
The powers are divided between the Executive and the Legislative authorities, that is, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. |
The entire power lies with the President and there is no division of power between the Executive and Legislative. |
Autocracy |
Owing to the division of powers between the Executive and Legislative organs of the Government, autocratic rule cannot be enforced. |
The Presidential form of Government is autocratic in nature as there is no division of power and all powers lie with the President. |
Cabinet of Ministers |
Only the members of the parliament can be appointed to the Council of Ministers. |
The Council of ministers is selected by the President and can include people outside the parliament. |
Dissolution of the lower House |
The lower house can be dissolved before the tenure is complete. The President can dissolve the lower house anytime. |
The President has a fixed tenure and the lower house cannot be dissolved before the completion of a term. |
The difference between the Parliamentary and the Presidential form of Government is that they have different ways of functioning and organization.
Both systems of government are unique and have their own pros and cons. A country chooses its Government based on its needs and suitability. India is a diverse country with various groups, geopolitical divisions, and ethnicities.
In such a scenario, the parliamentary form of democracy works best for India and implements the best practices of governance for the benefit of the citizens.
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