Posted by / Saturday 19 March 2016 / No comments

Six features of the presidential system of government

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FEATURES OF THE PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM
Definition of the presidential system of government

A presidential system of government can be defined as the system in which a President is directly elected, during a general election, to rule a state for a specific term of office, acting as both head of state and head of government. The United States of America is a good example of a Presidential System of Government.

Single Executive
One of the features of a Presidential System of Government is the existence of a single executive. In other words, the executive is headed by only one person. The person acts as both the head of state and the head of government, meaning the person performs the ceremonial functions as well as the governmental functions.

Executive Accountability
The President is usually directly elected by the people in a general election. For this reason, the president derives his mandate from the people directly and therefore accountable to them directly for his actions and in-actions in office.

Fixed Term of office
In a Presidential system, the president is elected for a constitutionally accepted fixed term of office. Usually, it is for four years but in other countries, it is for five years or for seven years. This can be renewed for a second term but after the second term, that person cannot stand for office anymore.

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Presidential Nomination of Ministers
In a Presidential system, all the Ministers are nominated by the president, from outside the legislature. This Ministers-designate are then vetted and endorsed by the parliament before they are appointed by the President.

Recognized opposition
Another feature is that in the presidential system, the role of the opposition is clear, it is cut out by the constitution. Party discipline is, therefore, not very strong.

The supremacy of the Constitution 
In a presidential system of government, the constitution is deemed to be supreme. Anybody who exercises powers outside the constitutionally mandated power is deemed to be in contravention of the constitution. Such actions can be declared null and void by the judiciary.


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