Democracy: Parliamentary

and Presidential Systems

Democracy
Government of the people, by the people,
for the people.
Features:
1. Peoples power to make decisions,
2. One person, one vote,
3. Public policies are wishes of the people,
4. Decisions are wishes of the majority.

Types of Democracy
1. Direct democracy:
where people participate in the political
process without any intermediaries,
2. Representative [indirect] democracy:
where citizens elect representatives to run
the government on their behalf.

Representative Democracy
1. Citizens are at least one place removed
from actual decision-making,
2. Elected representatives act on behalf of the
voters,
3. Free competitive elections at different
levels of government,
4. Elections as a way of organizing political
succession.

Critics of Representative
Democracy
1. Candidates and office-holders may
manipulate voters through clever use of
PR and media techniques.
2. The system is not equally open or
responsive to all kinds of individuals and
groups.
3. The rule of the few is also possible.

Favorable Conditions for

Democracy
1. Peaceful evolution,
2. Socio-economic pluralism,
3. High level of economic development and
modernization,
4. Low level of ethnic group cleavages,
5. Leaders commitment to democracy.

Democratic Institutions
1. Fusion of power.
Parliamentary system.
2. Separation of Power.
Presidential system.

Parliamentary Democracy
1. The executive is divided into two
dignified and efficient,
2. The head of state appoints the head of
government [who enjoyed parliamentary
majority],
3. Head of government appoints ministers,
4. Fusion of powerparliament is supreme,

Parliamentary Democracy
5. Ministers are usually members of
parliament,
6. The head of government may advise the
head of state to dissolve parliament,
7. The government is a collective body and is
responsible to parliament,
8. The government is only indirectly
responsible to the people.

Presidential Democracy
1. The executive is a president directly elected by
the people,
2. The head of government is also the head of state,
3. The president appoints ministers/heads of
departments who are responsible to him/her,
4. The president cannot dissolve or coerce
parliament,

Presidential Democracy
5. Parliament is supreme over other branches,
6. Separation of powersall branches of
governments are co-equals,
7. The executive is directly responsible to the
electorate,
8. There is no focus of power in the political
system.

Comparing Democracies
Parliamentary
1. Healthy cooperation
between the executive
and legislative.
2. Parliamentary
responsibility.
3. Possibility of duplication
in directing the
bureaucracy.

Presidential
1. Possible conflict
between the executive
and legislative.
2. Direct responsibility.
3. Clearer political
directions of the
bureaucracy.

Mixed System
1. Voters elect members of the legislature and
executive [president] separately,
2. President is the head of state, prime minister is
head of government,
3. President appoints a prime minister from among
members of legislature [leader of majority party],
4. Executive agencies are under the direction of the
Prime Minister.

Muslim Perspective
No specific guidance from the Quran.
Muhammad Asad: Presidential system, with all the
check-and-balance mechanisms.
Mawdudi: Islamic polity should imitate the
Rashidun Caliphate. Theo-democracydivine
democratic government. Limited popular
sovereignty under the suzerainty of God.
Supremacy of Shari`ah, and the centrality of
Shura.

Presidential system
president
Voters

agency head

federal agency congress

Parliamentary system
voters house of common
Prime minister central
The Mixed system
president
prime minister ex agencies
voters
national assembly

agencies