- The presidential system is a form of government in which the executive and legislative branches of government are separate and there is mutual independence between the two.
- In this system, the executive and legislature are elected separately and have independent powers.
- According to J. W. Gamer (1952), presidential form of government “is that system in which the executive (including both the head of the state and his ministers) is constitutionally independent of the legislature in respect to the duration of his or their tenure and irresponsible to it for his or their political policies”.
- The best example of this system is the United States where it emerged and has been adopted by almost all the states of continental Americas such as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, etc.
- It also exists in African countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, etc. and in some Asian countries as well such as Indonesia, Maldives, Philippines, etc.
The presidential system has its distinctive features that distinguish it from a parliamentary system. Its key features are:
(i) single head
(ii) separation of powers
(iii) President and cabinet members
(iv) law-making authority, and
(v) fixed terms of offices.
Single Head
- In presidential systems, a single elected person, known as President, wears what Andrew Heywood called ‘two hats’, both the head of state and the head of government.
- The President directs the government and exercises the political responsibilities as well as performs the ceremonial duties.
- However, the President is far weaker than Prime Minister in a parliamentary system and has less control over the legislature and its members than Prime Minister has in a parliamentary state. This is primarily because of the doctrine of separation of powers.
Separation of Powers
- The defining feature of presidential forms of government is the principle of separation of powers.
- There is a clear division of powers and responsibilities among the three branches of government- legislature, executive and judiciary.
- The separation of powers between legislature and executive exists in presidential systems mainly in following forms. First The executive (President and his cabinet) is not drawn from the legislature. Instead both the President and legislature are elected separately in their own elections. Second The President is directly accountable and responsible to the electorate, not to the legislature as he or she is elected by the people, either directly or through an electoral college. Third The legislature cannot remove the President before the expiry of his or her term. It can do so only in the exceptional circumstances through a process of impeachment. Fourth President cannot dissolve the legislature before the expiry of its term. Fifth The members of executive including the President cannot be the members of legislature and vice-versa. A member of the legislature cannot join the executive branch and executive members cannot sit in the legislature and take part in the legislative process.
President and Cabinet Members
In the presidential system, the President has complete freedom in the appointment of cabinet members and formation of government though they cannot be drawn from the legislature.
The cabinet members appointed by President serve as his or her policy advisers rather than policy makers and are individually accountable only to the President, not to the people or legislature.
Since the President is politically responsible to the people, he or she has absolute authority to hire and fire his or her cabinet members who share no decisionmaking powers with him or her.
In this respect, there is unipersonal executive responsibility in presidential form of government and cabinet is a far less important decision-making body.
Law-making Authority
In presidential system, the executive has far less law-making authority than executive in a parliamentary system. The American President, for example, can veto a legislation passed by the Congress (legislature of USA), but the latter can override a veto with a two-thirds majority vote.
Similarly, the President can sign treaties but such treaties are subject to approval of the Senate (upper house). Because of mutual independence of executive and legislative branches in terms of their selection, tenure and membership, the legislature is far more independent law-making body than legislature in a parliamentary system.
Fixed Terms of Offices
Another distinguishing feature of presidential systems is the presence of fixed terms. Both the President and legislature have fixed terms of office meaning that neither can usually remove the other before the expiry of given term.
The President is elected separately for a fixed term, which varies from four to six years in different presidential states. The President’s term is not dependent on the legislative support as in a parliamentary system.
This means that the legislature cannot usually remove the President before the expiry of his or her term except in the exceptional circumstances through a process of impeachment which needs extraordinary measures. Similarly, the President cannot dissolve the legislature and remove its members who enjoy their own democratic mandates.