Parliamentary Democracy

A parliamentary democracy is a system of government in which the Parliament is supreme, or the sovereign, and there is no separation of powers or checks and balances.

In a parliamentary democracy representatives are elected by the people either at regular intervals or when the party in power decides to hold elections within a required period of time. The elected representatives then:

• form a government by their majority vote

• pass laws by majority vote, typically in both houses of a bicameral Parliament

• monitor the executive government and public officials in institutions established by the Parliament