The Differences Between a Parliamentary Democracy and Presidentialist Democracy and the

Advantages and Disadvantages of Each

Parliamentary Presidentialist
Prime minister not directly elected President is chief executive – head of state
Head of state is NOT prime minister AND head of government
No separation of powers Separation of powers between branches of
government
Party with the parliamentary majority selects Legislative and executive branch elected
the prime minister separately
Must maintain the confidence of parliament – Impeachment is the only legal way to remove
vote of no confidence, removal the president before end of term
Prime Minister may dissolve parliament and
call for new special elections
Not a lot of public argument within cabinet Consultation of cabinet, legislative agenda,
veto power
No open recruitment Open recruitment – legislative experience not a
requirement
No divided government – prime minister is Divided government – when executive party is
leader of majority party not the majority in legislative
Advantages Passage of legislation easier due to prime Regime stability
minister being in the same party as majority
More ethnically diverse societies are better Less government (administration)
represented

Less prone to regime change to some form

of authoritarianism
Disadvantages Less stable governments because they can Stalemates often occur
change so often
Bipartisanship does not leave much room for
ethnic groups or diverse parties

Professor Mary Casey Kane Love – POLC 2300: Comparative Politics – Tulane University Fall 2010
Compiled by Melissa Elli Geiss – msjahban@tulane.edu