question_answer

Differentiate between the Presidential and Parliamentary forms of Government.

Answer:

 (a) The Parliamentary system of government is based on a fusion of legislative and executive orders while the Presidential form of government is based on separation of powers where all the three organs of government are separate and independent of each other. (b) In a Parliamentary form of government, there is the presence of a nominal head and a real head. The President who is the head of state is actually only a nominal head. All his powers are exercised by the Prime Minister who is the real executive. But in the Presidential system, such a distinction does not exist and the President is the real executive. (c) In a Parliamentary system, the executive is collectively and individually responsible to the legislature while in the Presidential system, the President is not responsible to the legislature. (d) In a Parliamentary form of government, the tenure of the cabinet depends on the support it commands in the legislature while in the Presidential system, the President enjoys a fixed tenure. (e) In a Parliamentary system, the ministers initiate important bills in the legislature while in the Presidential system, the members of the President's Cabinet cannot initiate any bills in the legislature. This is because the President's Cabinet consists of experts who are not accountable to the legislature. In contrast, all ministers in the Parliamentary system have to be members of the legislature and are accountable to it.