A parliamentary vote is a type of voting system used by some countries with parliaments. This is an alternative to the presidential form of government, which is primarily found in the United States. Many countries around the world use a parliamentary form of government, including Great Britain, Canada, India, Italy, Australia, and the Netherlands.
In a parliamentary system, voters choose political parties and candidates for Parliament. The party with the most votes becomes the ruling party and selects its leader, called the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister leads the executive branch, which is the part of the government that executes policy and oversees government agencies. The roles of the legislative and executive branches are either blurred or merged in a parliamentary system, and the Prime Minister usually serves for the entire term of the Parliament.
Voting systems differ from country to country, with many incorporating aspects of proportional representation and a strong connection between MPs and their local community. You can filter the voting systems by these characteristics, to see which ones best suit your needs.
A parliamentary system may also include special checks and balances to prevent corruption or excessive concentration of power, such as a constitutional court that has the right to judicial review or a referendum on laws passed by the legislature. In addition, a parliamentary system may allow voters to directly affect the government by voting them out of office between regular elections. This is possible in the UK where a Prime Minister who loses popularity or suffers a “no confidence” vote in the parliament can be forced to call early elections.