PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

INTRODUCTION

The presidential system is one of the popular models of government in operation in many countries, developed and developing, in the world today. This unit takes a look at this system of government by first defining it and identifying its major characteristics. It also examines its advantages and disadvantages as well as its practice in specific countries such as the United States and Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

1. Define the presidential system of government including its basic features

2. Identify the benefits as well as the danger that can accrue to a country where the

system of government is in practice

3. Use the examples of some countries that will be cited in the unit to understand the

practical application of this model of government.

MAIN CONTENT

3.1 The Meaning of Presidential System of Government
The institution of a single man and non-parliamentary executive chiefly characterizes the presidential system of government. 

The same person who holds the title of head of state is also head of government. The real political or executive power is combined with the ceremonial powers and are both exercised by a single man who is also addressed as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The executive headed by him is the government and it is headed by the president who is also the head of the executive. 

The president is normally elected directly through popular votes or, indirectly via the collegiate system, otherwise known as the Electoral College and he is directly accountable to the electorate. The election to the office of the president is independent of the election to the legislature. 

The whole country constitutes a single constituency to the president. On assumption of office the president is seen as the symbol of national unity, a magnet of loyalty, a centre of ceremony and chief administrator for the nation. Agarwal et al (1994) define the presidential system as that type of government in which the three organs of government, that is the legislature, the executive and the judiciary are separated and co-ordinate in power, each of them acting independently within its own sphere. The holder of the office of president is often called executive president, because he is solely responsible for the implementation of legislative decisions. Examples of countries in the world that practice this system of government are U.S.A, Spain, France, and Nigeria. 

The tenure office of the president is fixed; he stays in office for a specific tenure and he can be re-elected for a second term. The number of years a president stays in office depends on the constitution of the country concerned. In Nigeria the fixed tenure for any president is four years.

Unlike the Prime Minister who is first among equals in a parliamentary system the President in a presidential system of government does not share his power with any other person. While commenting on the American president and his cabinet, Dennis Brogan (1966:195) said: “There is in American theory and practice no question of primus inters pares. The famous story of Lincoln consulting his cabinet and announcing



‘Noes seven, Ayes one, the ayes have it’ expresses perfectly the spirit of the American Constitution”