ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM

Advantages of Parliamentary Systems

The supporters of parliamentary system argue that this system is far better than presidential system because of the following advantages that it produces.

1. Because of fusion of powers, members of legislature are more cooperative in relation to executive branch than is legislature in a presidential system.
2. The government is more responsible and accountable in that ministers are individually responsible to legislature about the activities of their respective departments and an incumbent government, particularly a coalition one, can remain in office only as long as it enjoys the support of legislature.
3. Because the members of executive are themselves the members of legislature, there is a strong government and effective policymaking in the sense that the legislative proposals that an incumbent government introduces in legislature are easily passed into law by latter.
4. Parliamentary systems tend to be more representative than presidential systems in the sense that legislatures in parliamentary states using proportional representation forms of electoral system for electing their legislatures are highly representative bodies and the coalition governments formed in these states represent the multiplicity of interests and opinions.
5. The parliamentary systems are more flexible in the sense that they impel the elected representatives, who have different political views, to negotiate compromises in order to form the government.
6. Given the significance of disciplined parties in parliamentary systems, they are more conducive to forming and maintaining parties.
7. The absence of fixed term of executive offers an opportunity to voters to remove incompetent and unpopular representatives at any time.

Disadvantages of Parliamentary Systems

1. Parliamentary systems tend to create the problem of executive domination. This usually happens in single-party majority based parliamentary governments where executive enjoys so much control over legislature that the latter serves as a mere talking shop.
2. Parliamentary systems are associated with weak government and political instability. This usually exists in parliamentary states where because of proportional representation forms of electoral system either single-party minority governments or coalition governments are formed.
3. Parliamentary systems are far less efficient than presidential systems in the sense that the voters do not know in advance (prior to casting a vote) what the composition of new government will be which depends on the final electoral results and the subsequent negotiations for forming a coalition government.
4. In a situation where no party wins a majority of legislative seats, the preferred policies of the voters may not be actualized as the parties holding different political positions have to compromise their positions in order to form a government.
5. The Prime Minister can call earlier elections at any time in the interests of his or her party.