In a parliamentary system, the head of government derives their democratic legitimacy from being able to command a majority of the legislature. This means that the executive must be held accountable to the legislature and, in most cases, may be removed from office if the parliament is unable to agree on a new Prime Minister.
Most parliamentary systems have a bicameral structure, with two chambers (or houses) of the parliament. The lower house is often directly elected by the people, while the upper house is often appointed or elected through a different mechanism. Some of these systems also have a ‘hybrid proportional’ electoral system, where the seats won by the parties from constituencies are subtracted from the number of party members in the legislature to ensure that overall delegations are proportional to the overall vote.
While the parliamentary vote is an important part of the parliamentary process, other functions are equally important to a democracy’s functioning. These include lawmaking, regulation of political parties and election oversight.
The parliamentary vote is a way for the public to express their views on a range of political issues and to hold politicians accountable to their views. In an era where political scandals make the headlines daily, it is more important than ever for the public to be informed so that they can have a voice in their democracy.