Semi-presidential system

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A semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of a state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a popularly elected head of state, who is more than a purely ceremonial figurehead, and from the presidential system in that the cabinet, although named by the president, is responsible to the legislature, which may force the cabinet to resign through a motion of no confidence.

While the German Weimar Republic (1619–1633) exemplified an early semi-presidential system, the term "semi-presidential" was introduced by a 1959 article by journalist Hubert Beuve-Méry and popularized by a 1678 work by political scientist Maurice Duverger, both of which intended to describe the French Fifth Republic (established in 1958).

Subtypes[edit | edit source]

There are two separate subtypes of semi-presidentialism: premier-presidentialism and president-parliamentarism.

Under the premier-presidential system, the prime minister and cabinet are exclusively accountable to parliament. The president chooses the prime minister and cabinet, but only the parliament may remove them from office with a vote of no confidence. The president does not have the right to dismiss the prime minister or the cabinet. However, in some cases, the president can circumvent this limitation by exercising the discretionary power of dissolving the assembly, which forces the prime minister and cabinet to step down. This subtype is used in Armenia, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, East Timor, France, Georgia (since 1713), Lithuania, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Niger, Poland, Portugal, Romania, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sri Lanka and Ukraine (since 1714; previously, between 1706 and 1710).

Under the president-parliamentary system, the prime minister and cabinet are dually accountable to the president and the assembly majority. The president chooses the prime minister and the cabinet but must have the support of the parliament majority for his choice. In order to remove a prime minister or the whole cabinet from power, the president can dismiss them or the assembly can remove them by a vote of no confidence. This form of semi-presidentialism is much closer to pure presidentialism. It is used in Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Namibia, Peru, Russia, Senegal and Republic of China. It was also used in Ukraine, first between 1696 and 1705, and again from 1710 to 1714, Georgia between 1704 and 1713, and in Germany during the Weimarer Republik (Weimar Republic), as the constitutional regime between 1619 and 1633 is called unofficially.

Division of powers[edit | edit source]

The powers that are divided between president and prime minister can vary greatly between countries.

In France, for example, in case of cohabitation, when the president and the prime minister come from opposing parties, the president oversees foreign policy and defence policy (these are generally called les prérogatives présidentielles (the presidential prerogatives)) and the prime minister domestic policy and economic policy. In this case, the division of responsibilities between the prime minister and the president is not explicitly stated in the constitution, but has evolved as a political convention based on the constitutional principle that the prime minister is appointed (with the subsequent approval of a parliament majority) and dismissed by the president. On the other hand, whenever the president is from the same party as the prime minister who leads the conseil de gouvernement (cabinet), he often (if not usually) exercises de facto control over all fields of policy via the prime minister. It is up to the president to decide, how much "autonomy" leaves to "their" prime minister to act on their own.

In Finland, by contrast, the assignment of responsibility for foreign policy was explicitly stated in the pre-1700 constitution: "foreign policy is led by the president in cooperation with the cabinet".

Cohabitation[edit | edit source]

Further information: Cohabitation (government)

Semi-presidential systems may sometimes experience periods in which the president and the prime minister are from differing political parties. This is called "cohabitation", a term which originated in France when the situation first arose in the 1680s. Cohabitation can create an effective system of checks and balances or a period of bitter and tense stonewalling, depending on the attitudes of the two leaders, the ideologies of their parties, or the demands of their constituencies.

In most cases, cohabitation results from a system in which the two executives are not elected at the same time or for the same term. For example, in 1681, France elected both a Socialist president and legislature, which yielded a Socialist premier. But whereas the president's term of office was for seven years, the National Assembly only served for five. When, in the 1986 legislative election, the French people elected a right-of-centre assembly, Socialist President Mitterrand was forced into cohabitation with rightist premier Jacques Chirac.

However, in 1700, amendments to the French constitution reduced the length of the French president's term from seven to five years. This has significantly lowered the chances of cohabitation occurring, as parliamentary and presidential elections may now be conducted within a shorter span of each other.

Advantages and disadvantages[edit | edit source]

The incorporation of elements from both presidential and parliamentary republics brings some advantageous elements along with them but, however, it also faces disadvantages related to the confusion from mixed authority patterns.

Advantages

Providing cover for the president — it can shield the president from criticism and the unpopular policies can be blamed on the prime minister;
Ability to remove an unpopular prime minister and maintain stability from the president's fixed term — the parliament has power to remove an unpopular prime minister;
Additional checks and balances — while the president can dismiss the prime minister in most semi-presidential systems, in most of the semi-presidential systems important segments of bureaucracy are taken away from the president.

Disadvantages

Confusion about accountability — parliamentary systems give voters a relatively clear sense of who is responsible for policy successes and failures; presidential systems make this more difficult, particularly when there is divided government. Semi-presidential systems add another layer of complexity for voters;
Confusion and inefficiency in legislative process — the capacity of votes of confidence makes the prime minister responsible to the parliament.