Parliamentary republic

form of government

A parliamentary republic is a name for a government. The system is used in many countries.

States with a parliamentary system are shown in red and orange. Red is a constitutional monarchy. Orange is a parliamentary republic. Green is where the parliament helps the executive, but does not choose it.

What it looks like

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In a parliamentary system, the legislature is the part of government that makes laws. The legislature also gives power to the executive (the part of government that enforces laws). This is the basic form of a parliamentary republic. The difference is how the legislature gets its power. The legislature is not chosen by a ruler or by birth. The people choose the legislature in an election. This means that the executives get their power from the legislature, but the legislature gets its power from the people.

How it works

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The people choose the legislature. There are many people in the legislature. That group then gets together to choose one person to be their leader. The leader is often part of the legislature. The name for this job is Prime Minister in most countries. The Prime Minister is the head of government. This person leads the country. This way, the people are the power behind the parliamentary republic. They choose the units that make government work.

This is different from other parliamentary systems because the legislature is chosen in a different way. In other parliamentary systems, members are chosen by the head of state, the local leaders, or by birth. In a parliamentary republic, the people choose the members. The people do this through elections. Sometimes they vote for every person in parliament. Other times they vote for people in their area. The politicians they elect go to parliament to make laws and select the head of state. This gives the people power to decide who is in government.

Examples

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Country Parliamentary republic adopted
  Albania 1991
  Bangladesh 1991[note 1]
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1991
  Botswana 1966
  Bulgaria 1989
  Cape Verde 1990
  Croatia 2000
  Czech Republic 1993
  Dominica 1978
  East Timor 1999
  Estonia 1991[note 2]
  Ethiopia 1991
  Finland 1919
  Germany 1949[note 3]
  Greece 1975
  Hungary 1990
  Iceland 1944
  India 1950
  Iraq 2005
  Ireland 1949
  Israel 1948
  Italy 1946
  Kiribati 1979
  Kyrgyzstan 2010
  Latvia 1991[note 4]
  Lebanon 1941
  Libya 2012
  Lithuania 1991[note 5]
  Macedonia 1991
  Malta 1974
  Marshall Islands 1979
  Mauritius 1992
  Federated States of Micronesia 1986
  Moldova 1994[note 6]
  Mongolia 1949
  Montenegro 1992
  Nauru 1968
  Nepal 2008
  Pakistan 2010[1][2]
  Poland 1990
  Samoa 2007
  San Marino 0301
  Serbia 1991
  Singapore 1995
  Slovakia 1993
  Slovenia 1991
  Somalia 2012
  South Africa 1961
  Trinidad and Tobago 1976
  Turkey 1946
  Vanuatu 1980
  1. Was a parliamentary republic between 1971 and 1975.
  2. Estonia was a parliamentary republic between 1919 and 1934 when the government was overthrown by a coup d'état.
  3. At the end of World War II Germany was divided into West Germany and East Germany. This date shows the start of the Federal Republic of Germany, although the area of former East Germany was no part of that parliamentary republic until 1990.
  4. Latvia was a parliamentary republic between 1921 and 1934. The then prime minister Kārlis Ulmanis took power in a coup d'état. In June 1940, Latvia was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union.
  5. Lithuania was previously a parliamentary republic between 1920 and 1926 when democratic government was overthrown in a coup d'état. In June 1940 Lithuania was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union.
  6. The first parliamentary elections were held in February and March 1990. The Communist Party of Moldova was the only group in this election. Other people were allowed to be in the election without a group. In 1991, the country moved away from Soviet Union. In 1994, the Moldovans held the first free elections.

References

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  1. By Kiran Khalid, CNN (2010-04-09). "Pakistan lawmakers approve weakening of presidential powers". CNN.com. Retrieved 2010-04-14. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  2. "'18th Amendment to restore Constitution' | Pakistan | News | Newspaper | Daily | English | Online". Nation.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2010-04-14. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  NODES
Note 9