PRESIDENTIAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT

Introduction

Government is one of the essential elements of the State. It is the working agency of the State. The importance of the Government in modern times is highly felt. Attempts have been made from time to time to classify the various forms of Government.

A presidential system is a democratic and republican system of government where a head of government leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch. This head of government is in most cases also the head of state, which is called president. In presidential countries, the executive is elected and is not responsible to the legislature, which cannot in normal circumstances dismiss it. Such dismissal is possible, however, in uncommon cases, often through impeachment. According to Garner, “Presidential Government is that system in which the executive (including both the Head of the State and his ministers) is constitutionally independent of the legislature in respect to the duration of his or their tenure and irresponsible to it for his or their political policies”.

Meaning

The title "president" has persisted from a time when such person personally presided over the governing body, as with the President of the Continental Congress in the early United States, prior to the executive function being split into a separate branch of government. There is an intermediary system called semi-presidentialism.

Countries that feature a presidential or semi-presidential system of government are not the exclusive users of the title of president. Heads of state of parliamentary republics, largely ceremonial in most cases, are called presidents. Dictators or leaders of one-party states, popularly elected or not, are also often called presidents.

Presidentialism is the dominant form of government in the continental Americas. It is also prevalent in Central and southern West Africa and in Central Asia.

Features of the Presidential form of Government

Maurice Duverger stated that the presidential system is characterized by the principle of the separation of powers, presidential elections by means of universal suffrage, presidential appointment and removal of ministers and because none of them are not politically responsible to the parliament.

President is the Real Head

The Executive Power is undivided. In the Presidential system, the chief of the state is not merely the titular executive but he is real executive and actually exercises the powers which the constitution and laws confer upon him. In such a system, the President is the real head. He is the head of state as well as the head of government. In this system, the President enjoys real powers of the government. He is not responsible to the legislature for his administration and policies.

Separation of Powers

There is separation of powers in the Presidential form of government. In this system the executive and legislature are separate from each other and they have equal status. The President is elected by people. Neither he nor his ministers are drawn from the legislature. They are not accountable to it. They are independent of the legislature. He has a fixed tenure. He cannot be easily ousted from office by the legislature. The only method of his ouster from office is impeachment which is a very difficult process.

On the other hand, the President also cannot dissolve the legislature. Further, the judiciary is independent of both the executive and the legislature. Thus, there is not only separation of powers, but also check and balance in the Presidential system.

Checks and Balances

Though the three organs of the government are kept apart, they are also connected by the system of checks and balances. Each organ of government exercises checks on the other two organs so that a sort of balance is established.

Ministers are Accountable to the President

In a Presidential government, the President enjoys real powers of the administration and he exercises all those powers, which are given to him under the constitution and the law. The President appoints his ministers (or secretaries) who stay in office during his pleasure. They do not belong to the legislature. Nor are they responsible to it. They are appointed on the basis of their experience and expertise. The secretaries help the president in the administration and it depends upon the will of the president to accept or reject their advice. They are 'President's men'. He can remove them from office if he is not happy with them.

Non-Responsibility to the Legislature

In a Presidential government the President and his secretaries are not responsible to the legislature. The legislature cannot remove them through a vote of no-confidence. Moreover, an adjournment motion or a censure motion cannot be brought against them. The President and his secretaries are not the members of legislature and they do not attend its sessions. Thus, they cannot be asked questions and supplementary questions.

Fixed Tenure

In a Presidential government, the President is elected for a fixed tenure and except through impeachment for the violation of the constitution, he cannot be removed from his office before the expiry of his term. The tenure of office cannot be lessened or increased under any circumstances.

Transparency

In a presidential system, the balance of power tends to be more transparent since it aims at defining the limits between the Executive and Legislative branches, even though there are many collaboration alliances between them, and that members of one are not members of the other at the same time, though there are exceptions.

Merits:

More Democratic

Because of the twin principles of separation of powers and check and balance, there is no concentration of powers in the same man or in the same body. As a result, there is more of democracy in this system.

Stability and Continuity

As both the President and the legislature enjoy fixed terms of office, there is political stability. There is continuity of policy. As a result, the government can think of long-term policies.

People's President

The President is directly elected by people. He has thus reason to think that he enjoys more of people's confidence and support than the Prime Minister in the Parliamentary system.

More Efficient

The President is free to choose his ministers. The Senate, the Upper House of American Congress, may or may not ratify such appointments, but it cannot impose its choice on the President. The President has thus the freedom to appoint very competent persons as his Ministers or Secretaries on the basis of their experience and expertise. They are accountable only to the President and not to the Congress. As a result, they have time to concentrate on their work and to do their duty efficiently.

Prompt and Bold Decisions

The President, being all powerful, is in a position to take bold and prompt decisions. His ministers, being subordinate to him, cannot tie hands. They may advise him, but they have to implement his decisions.

Best suited to Deal with Emergencies

The Presidential system is more effective in tackling emergencies as there is unity of control and concentration of executive powers in person (President). He can react quickly to any national crisis by taking prompt decisions. There is hardly any need for him to convince others on the spot that the decision he going to take is good for the nation.

More Suitable for Multi-Party System

The multiparty system is prone to political instability. Political parties with different interests pull the political system in different directions. In order to check this, there is the need of a strong executive and the Presidential government is best suited to establish stability in a multiparty system.

Symbol of National Unity and Integrity

The Presidential executive is of help in forging unity in the nation consisting of diverse regions, communities and cult. As he is directly elected by people, they look upon him as the symbol of their unity.

Demerits:

Dictatorial

The Presidential executive is likely to be authoritarian. As all executive powers are concentrated in the hands of the President and he is not accountable to legislature, he may be tempted to abuse powers and behave in a dictatorial manner.

Conflict and Deadlock

As the President and his ministers are not members of legislature, they find it difficult to persuade the members of the latter to accept proposals. The legislature is inclined to find fault with the President, and vice versa. Conflict between the executive and the legislature leads to deadlock in the administration.

Absence of Accountability

The executive is not accountable to the legislature. Nor is it accountable to people. The people directly elect their President; they cannot recall him even if they find him incompetent or dishonest or useless. President can be removed from office by the legislature through impeachment, which is a very difficult process.

Rigidity

The Presidential system is too rigid to adapt itself to sudden changes in circumstances. To manage a crisis, the ministers including the Prime Minister in Parliamentary system can be replaced. But, however great the need, the President in a Presidential system cannot be replaced during his tenure.

Weak Foreign Policy

In the field of foreign policy, the President has handicaps. He has no power to declare a war even when his country is attacked by enemy. This power belongs to the Congress. Similarly, the treaty that he may conclude with another country is not valid if it is not ratified by the Senate.

There is thus some validity in the comment of Gamer that the Presidential system government is 'autocratic, irresponsible and dangerous'.