Parliamentary democracy

Parliamentary democracy is a system in which elected representatives make laws and the government depends on the legislature’s support to remain in office.

Parliament: A legislature, especially one composed of elected representatives, that debates and enacts laws. It is the institution whose support sustains or removes the government.
Presidential system: A system in which a separately elected president leads the executive for a fixed term. Unlike a parliamentary government, its tenure does not ordinarily depend on legislative confidence.
Westminster system: A parliamentary model derived from the institutions and conventions of the United Kingdom. It is a prominent model of cabinet government responsible to an elected legislature.
Representative democracy: A system in which citizens choose officials to make public decisions on their behalf. Parliamentary democracy is a representative form centered on legislative elections.
Responsible government: A constitutional principle requiring ministers to retain the confidence of an elected legislature. It expresses the accountability relationship at the heart of parliamentary government.
Prime minister: The head of government in many parliamentary systems, usually leading the cabinet and commanding legislative support. The prime minister leads the government whose tenure depends on parliament.
Semi-presidential system: A system combining a directly elected president with a prime minister and government responsible to parliament. It divides executive authority between offices rather than relying on parliamentary government alone.
United Kingdom Parliament: The legislature of the United Kingdom, consisting of the House of Commons, House of Lords, and Crown. Its conventions and institutions shaped many parliamentary democracies.
Political party: An organized group that seeks political power by advancing candidates and a shared program. Parties organize parliamentary majorities and commonly supply ministers.
Parliamentary sovereignty: The doctrine that parliament has supreme legal authority, subject to the constitutional order in which it operates. It can give legislatures in parliamentary systems broad authority over lawmaking.

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