What are some of the similarities and differences between a parliamentary and presidential democracy?

There are substantial differences within as well as between the systems of parliamentary democracy and presidential democracy. To take two specific examples as patterns, some of the differences and similarities between parliamentary democracy as practiced in the United Kingdom and presidential democracy as practiced in the United States are as follows.

1. The president is Commander-in-Chief, head of both state and government. The prime minister in a parliamentary democracy is supposed to be "first among equals," the leading minister who remains responsible to the monarch, who is head of state. While not all parliamentary systems have a monarch, most grew out of systems which used to have one.

2. Anyone can run for president, subject to certain conditions, and the president is directly elected by the people (though, in the United States, this occurs via the electoral college). In a parliamentary democracy, people vote for local candidates representing a particular party, and this party then chooses its leader. The leader of the party that can command a parliamentary majority (either through his/her own party or through a coalition) becomes prime minister.

3. Though a prime minister sits in the legislature (as does the entire cabinet), while the president does not, similar considerations affect the power of both leaders. A president may fail to command a majority in the House or the Senate, meaning that s/he can accomplish very little in terms of legislation. A prime minister who leads a coalition, or who has a very small parliamentary majority, is in a similarly weak position.

What are some of the similarities and differences between a parliamentary and presidential democracy?

Parliamentary systems and presidential systems are both forms of representative government, which are run through elections (by which citizens select representatives to represent them). Additionally, they both tend to involve the use of political parties, which tend to play a critical role in shaping the practical realities of each political system.

However, while both presidential and parliamentary governments might be representative in nature, there are critical differences between the two systems. Perhaps most importantly, you should be careful not conflate the office of the prime minister and the president. A president is the head of the executive branch and is selected by its own electoral process. A prime minister, on the other hand, is the party leader for whichever party holds power in the legislature at any time. When elections are held, a new prime minister is selected if a new party gains political ascendancy within parliament. From that perspective, the clear distinction between the executive and legislative branches, which exists and defines presidential democracy, does not exist under a parliamentary system.

What are some of the similarities and differences between a parliamentary and presidential democracy?

There are similarities and differences between a parliamentary democracy and a presidential democracy. One similarity is that in both forms of government, the people elect their representatives. This gives the people significant power since they are able to decide who will represent them.

There are differences between the two forms of democracy. The United States has a presidential democracy, while the United Kingdom has a parliamentary democracy. In a presidential democracy, separation of powers is important. There are specific jobs that each branch of government has. This means that executive power doesn’t exist in the legislative branch. Also, the President is elected separately from the members of the legislative branch. In a parliamentary democracy, there is no election for the chief executive. The majority party in the legislative branch will choose that person. This makes it easier to pass laws because there is no threat of a presidential veto in a parliamentary democracy. Because presidential democracies generally have a system of checks and balances, this may limit what each branch of government can do.

What are some of the similarities and differences between a parliamentary and presidential democracy?

The major similarity between a presidential democracy and a parliamentary democracy is that both of these types of governments are democracies. This is a fundamental similarity that is, perhaps, more important than any differences. Both of these forms of democracy allow people to vote for their leaders. This makes them superior to other forms of government that do not allow their people to enjoy popular sovereignty.

However, there are important differences between the two forms of democracy. First, a parliamentary democracy is less likely to encounter gridlock than a presidential democracy is. In a parliamentary system, there cannot be a situation in which the chief executive is from one party while the legislature is (in whole or in part) controlled by a different party. This makes the parliamentary system more efficient. Second, a presidential system allows for separation of powers where a parliamentary system does not. In a presidential system, there is a clear distinction between the legislative and the executive branches of government.

Thus, these two types of government are similar in the most important way. However, a parliamentary system is more likely to be efficient while a presidential system allows for separation of powers and, thereby, greater protection of people’s rights.

What are the differences between parliamentary and presidential forms of government?  

The parliamentary system and the presidential system are both similar forms of democracy, with various branches ruling the government and a figurehead leader at the top. However, there are some differences.

For instance, the American presidential system has three branches to its government (the executive, legislative, and judicial), whereas in the British parliamentary system of government, the executive branch—the prime minister, their advisers, and the ministry—all come from the judicial branch, or the Parliament, thus creating a more cohesive unit than in the Presidential system.

While there are powerful opposing forces in both systems, the presidential system gives the president some legislative power to wield against the other party. In the parliamentary system, however, the ministers have less power to overrule their legislative opponents, and the prime minister can, in fact, be voted out with relative ease.

What are the differences between parliamentary and presidential forms of government?  

One of the major differences between these systems of government is found in how the legislature is structured. In a parliamentary form of government, the prime minister is part of the legislature, or parliament. In a presidential form of government, the president, though in a very similar role to the prime minister, is separate from the legislative body. This separation in a presidential form of government is part of the "checks and balances" system by which the president is part of the executive branch and can be "checked" by powers of the legislative branch. Even though this system of checks and balances exists, it is actually easier for a prime minister to be removed from office than for a president.

Another main difference between these two systems is that a president is elected separately from members of the legislative body. In the parliamentary form of government, a legislative body is elected and the parliament then internally appoints the prime minister.

What are the differences between parliamentary and presidential forms of government?  

In a parliamentary form of government, the executive is usually known as a prime minister. He or she is chosen from the majority party in the parliament, and chooses a cabinet, or ministry, that is sometimes also drawn from parliament. In a presidential form of government, the executive is separate from the legislative. The president usually has some legislative powers, including the veto, but operates independently from the legislature, which may (and indeed often does in the United States) have a majority of members that are drawn from a different party than the president. The United States is the world's oldest presidential government, and it is based upon a system of checks and balances that often places the President at odds with a Congress frequently dominated by the opposition.

One feature of the presidential system in the United States is that it is essentially a two-party system. This feature is not shared by many parliamentary democracies (and indeed some other presidential systems) around the world. Thus many parliamentary systems emphasize coalition-building as a means of governing, and in many cases prime ministers are chosen with the support of coalitions rather than of a single party with an outright majority.

One more significant difference is that prime ministers can often be removed with greater ease than presidents. If the ruling party is driven from power in parliamentary elections, then the prime minister will lose their job as well. In most parliamentary systems, prime ministers can be removed by a vote of "no confidence" by the legislature, which is generally much easier to carry out from a procedural standpoint than the impeachment and removal process by which a president can be removed.

What is the difference between Parilamentary and Presidential forms of government with reference to the U.K and the U.S.A.  

The major difference between these two types of government is that the American system has separation of powers while the British system does not.

In the British parliamentary system, the legislative branch is the only independent branch of government.  The executive is not elected separately as it is in the United States.  Instead, all of the highest members of the executive are members of Parliament as well.  This means that Parliament controls the executive completely. 

In the American presidential system, there are separate branches of government with distinct powers.  The President and his (or someday her) top officials are not members of the legislative branch.  They do not have to answer to that branch.  Similarly, the legislature is not subordinate to the executive.

In practical terms, a major difference between the two systems is that the American system allows for divided government while the British system does not.  In the parliamentary system, there cannot be one party in charge of the executive while another runs the legislature.  The current situation in the US, with a Democratic president and a House of Representatives run by the Republicans, is not possible in the British system.