Parliamentary Democracy

A parliamentary democracy is a system of government in which the Parliament is supreme, or the sovereign, and there is no or only little separation of Powers.

In a parliamentary democracy representatives are elected by the people either at regular intervals or when the majority of parliament members decides to hold elections within a required period of time, e.g. if a ruling coalition fails. The elected representatives then:

• form a government by their majority vote
• pass laws by a majority vote, in case of a bicameral Parliament typically in both houses
• monitor the executive government and public officials in institutions established by the Parliament