Parliamentary republic

A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number of variations of parliamentary republics. Most have a clear differentiation between the head of government and the head of state, with the head of government holding real power and the head of state being a ceremonial position, similar to constitutional monarchies. In some countries the head of state has reserve powers to use at their discretion as a non-partisan "referee" of the political process. Some have combined the roles of head of state and head of government, much like presidential systems, but with a dependency upon parliamentary confidence.

World's states coloured by systems of government:

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Parliamentary systems: Head of government is elected or nominated by and accountable to the legislature

  Constitutional monarchy with a ceremonial monarch

  Parliamentary republic with a ceremonial president

  Parliamentary republic with an executive president

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Presidential system: Head of government (president) is popularly elected and independent of the legislature

  Presidential republic

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Hybrid systems:

  Semi-presidential republic: Executive president is independent of the legislature; head of government is appointed by the president and is accountable to the legislature

  Assembly-independent republic: Head of government (president or directory) is elected by the legislature, but is not accountable to it

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Other systems:

  Theocratic republic: Supreme Leader holds significant executive and legislative power

  Semi-constitutional monarchy: Monarch holds significant executive or legislative power

  Absolute monarchy: Monarch has unlimited power

  One-party state: Power is constitutionally linked to a single political party

  Military junta: Committee of military leaders controls the government; constitutional provisions are suspended

  Provisional government: No constitutionally defined basis to current regime

  Dependent territories or places without governments

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Note: this chart represents de jure systems of government, not the de facto degree of democracy.

Powers

In contrast to republics operating under either the presidential system or the semi-presidential system, the head of state usually does not have executive powers as an executive president would (some may have reserve powers or a bit more influence beyond that), because many of those powers have been granted to a head of government (usually called a prime minister).

However, in a parliamentary republic with a head of state whose tenure is dependent on parliament, the head of government and head of state can form one office (as in Botswana, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and South Africa), but the president is still selected in much the same way as the prime minister is in most Westminster systems. This usually means that they are the leader of the largest party or coalition of parties in parliament.

In some cases, the president can legally have executive powers granted to them to undertake the day-to-day running of government (as in Iceland) but by convention they either do not use these powers or they use them only to give effect to the advice of the parliament or head of government. Some parliamentary republics could therefore be seen as following the semi-presidential system but operating under a parliamentary system.

Historical development

Typically, parliamentary republics are states that were previously constitutional monarchies with a parliamentary system.

Following the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War, France once again became a republic – the French Third Republic – in 1870. The President of the Third Republic had significantly less executive powers than those of the previous two republics had. The Third Republic lasted until the invasion of France by Nazi Germany in 1940. Following the end of the war, the French Fourth Republic was constituted along similar lines in 1946. The Fourth Republic saw an era of great economic growth in France and the rebuilding of the nation's social institutions and industry after the war, and played an important part in the development of the process of European integration, which changed the continent permanently. Some attempts were made to strengthen the executive branch of government to prevent the unstable situation that had existed before the war, but the instability remained and the Fourth Republic saw frequent changes in government – there were 20 governments in ten years. Additionally, the government proved unable to make effective decisions regarding decolonization. As a result, the Fourth Republic collapsed and Charles de Gaulle was given power to rule by decree, subsequently legitimized by approval of a new constitution in a referendum on 28 September 1958 that led to the establishment of the French Fifth Republic in 1959.

Chile became the first parliamentary republic in South America following a civil war in 1891. However, following a coup in 1925 this system was replaced by a presidential one.

Commonwealth of Nations

Main article: Commonwealth of Nations

Since the London Declaration of 29 April 1949 (just weeks after Ireland declared itself a republic, and excluded itself from the Commonwealth) republics have been admitted as members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

In the case of many republics in the Commonwealth of Nations, it was common for the Sovereign, formerly represented by a Governor-General, to be replaced by a non-executive head of state. This was the case in South Africa (which ceased to be a member of the Commonwealth immediately upon becoming a republic, and later switched to having an executive presidency), Malta, Trinidad and Tobago, India, Vanuatu and since 30 November 2021, Barbados. In many of these examples, the last Governor-General became the first president. Such was the case with Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Other states became parliamentary republics upon gaining independence.

List of modern parliamentary republics and related systems

Main article: List of countries by system of government § Parliamentary and related systems

Full parliamentary republics
Country/territory	Head of state	Head of state elected by	Cameral structure	Parliamentary republic adopted	Previous government form	Notes
Albania	Bajram Begaj	Parliament, by three-fifths majority	Unicameral	1991	One-party state
Armenia	Vahagn Khachaturyan	Parliament, by absolute majority	Unicameral	2018	Semi-presidential republic
Austria	Alexander Van der Bellen	Direct election, by two-round system	Bicameral	[1945	[One-party state (as part of Nazi Germany, see Anschluss)
Bangladesh	Mohammed Shahabuddin	Parliament	Unicameral	1991	Presidential republic
Barbados	Sandra Mason	Parliament, by two-thirds majority if there is no joint nomination	Bicameral	2021	Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm)
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Christian Schmidt Milorad Dodik Šefik Džaferović Željko Komšić	Direct election of collective head of state, by first-past-the-post vote	Bicameral	1991	One-party state (part of Yugoslavia)
Bulgaria	Rumen Radev	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	1991	One-party state
Republic of China (Taiwan)	Lai Ching-te	Direct election, by first-past-the-post Nominally by the National Assembly	Unicameral Nominally Tricameral	1946 Only nominally a parliamentary republic since 1996	One-party military dictatorship (Mainland China) Constitutional monarchy (Taiwan as part of the Japanese Empire)	Nominally; the Constitution has been partially superseded by additional articles that provide for a semi-presidential republic with direct presidential elections and a unicameral legislature. These additional articles have a sunset clause that will terminate them in the event of a hypothetical resumption of ROC rule in mainland China.
Croatia	Zoran Milanović	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	2000	Semi-presidential republic
Czech Republic	Petr Pavel	Direct election, by two-round system (since 2013; previously parliament, by majority)	Bicameral	1993	Parliamentary republic (part of Czechoslovakia)
Dominica	Sylvanie Burton	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1978	Associated state of the United Kingdom
Estonia	Alar Karis	Parliament, by two-thirds majority	Unicameral	1991	Presidential republic, thereafter occupied by a one-party state
Ethiopia	Sahle-Work Zewde	Parliament, by two-thirds majority	Bicameral	1991	One-party state
Fiji	Wiliame Katonivere	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	2014	Military dictatorship
Finland	Alexander Stubb	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	2000	Semi-presidential republic
Georgia	Salome Zourabichvili	Parliament and regional delegates, by absolute majority (since 2024; previously direct election, by two-round system)	Unicameral	2018	Semi-presidential republic
Germany	Frank-Walter Steinmeier	Federal Convention (Bundestag and state delegates), by absolute majority	Two unicameral institutions	1949	One-party state (Nazi Germany)
Greece	Katerina Sakellaropoulou	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1975	Military dictatorship; constitutional monarchy
Hungary	Tamás Sulyok	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1990	One-party state (Hungarian People's Republic)
Iceland	Halla Tómasdóttir	Direct election, by first-past-the-post vote	Unicameral	1944	Constitutional monarchy (in a personal union with Denmark)
India	Droupadi Murmu	Parliament and state legislature, by instant-runoff vote	Bicameral	1950	Constitutional monarchy (British Dominion)
Iraq	Abdul Latif Rashid	Parliament, by two-thirds majority	Unicameral	2005	One-party state
Ireland	Michael D. Higgins	Direct election, by instant-runoff vote	Bicameral	1949	To 1936: Constitutional monarchy (British Dominion) 1936–1949: ambiguous
Israel	Isaac Herzog	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	2001	Semi-parliamentary republic
Italy	Sergio Mattarella	Parliament and region delegates, by two-thirds majority; by absolute majority, starting from the fourth ballot, if no candidate achieves the aforementioned majority in the first three ballots	Bicameral	1946	Constitutional monarchy	Prime Minister is dependent on the confidence of both of the houses of Parliament.
Kosovo	Vjosa Osmani	Parliament, by two-thirds majority; by a simple majority, at the third ballot, if no candidate achieves the aforementioned majority in the first two ballots	Unicameral	2008	UN-administered Kosovo (formally part of Serbia)
Latvia	Edgars Rinkēvičs	Parliament	Unicameral	1991	Presidential republic, thereafter occupied by a one-party state
Lebanon	Najib Mikati (Acting)	Parliament	Unicameral	1941	Protectorate (French mandate of Lebanon)
Malta	George Vella	Parliament, by two-thirds majority	Unicameral	1974	Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm)
Mauritius	Prithvirajsing Roopun	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1992	Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm)
Moldova	Maia Sandu	Direct election, by two-round system (since 2016; previously by parliament, by three-fifths majority)	Unicameral	2001	Semi-presidential republic
Montenegro	Jakov Milatović	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	1992	One-party state (Part of Yugoslavia, and after Serbia and Montenegro)
Nepal	Ram Chandra Poudel	Parliament and state legislators	Bicameral	2008	Constitutional monarchy
North Macedonia	Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	1991	One-party state (part of Yugoslavia)
Pakistan	Asif Ali Zardari	Parliament and state legislators, by instant-runoff vote	Bicameral	2010	Assembly-independent republic
Samoa	Tuimalealiifano Va'aletoa Sualauvi II	Parliament	Unicameral	1960	Trust Territory of New Zealand
Serbia	Aleksandar Vučić	Direct election, by two-round system	Unicameral	1991	One-party state (part of Yugoslavia, and later Serbia and Montenegro)
Singapore	Tharman Shanmugaratnam	Direct election (since 1993)	Unicameral	1965	State of Malaysia
Slovakia	Peter Pellegrini	Direct election, by two-round system (since 1999; previously by parliament)	Unicameral	1993	Parliamentary Republic (part of Czechoslovakia)
Slovenia	Nataša Pirc Musar	Direct election, by two-round system	Bicameral	1991	One-party state (part of Yugoslavia)
Somalia	Hassan Sheikh Mohamud	Parliament	Bicameral	2012	One-party state
Trinidad and Tobago	Christine Kangaloo	Parliament	Bicameral	1976	Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm)
Vanuatu	Nikenike Vurobaravu	Parliament and regional council presidents, by majority	Unicameral	1980	British–French condominium (New Hebrides)
Parliamentary republics with an executive presidency
Country	Head of state	Head of state elected by	Cameral structure	Parliamentary republic with an executive presidency adopted	Previous government form	Notes
Botswana	Mokgweetsi Masisi	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1966	British protectorate (Bechuanaland Protectorate)
Kiribati	Taneti Maamau	Direct election, by first-past-the-post vote	Unicameral	1979	Protectorate	Following a general election, by which citizens elect the members of the House of Assembly, members select from their midst "not less than 3 nor more than 4 candidates" for the presidency. No other person may stand as candidate. The citizens of Kiribati then elect the president from among the proposed candidates with first-past-the-post voting.
Guyana	Irfaan Ali	Semi-direct election, by first-past-the-post vote (vacancies are filled by Parliament, by majority)	Unicameral	1980	Full parliamentary republic
Marshall Islands	David Kabua	Parliament	Bicameral	1979	UN Trust Territory (part of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
Nauru	Russ Kun	Parliament	Unicameral	1968	UN Trusteeship between Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
South Africa	Cyril Ramaphosa	Parliament, by majority	Bicameral	1961	Constitutional monarchy (Commonwealth realm)	Was a full parliamentary republic from 1961–1984; adopted an executive presidency in 1984.
Assembly-independent systems
Country	Head of state	Head of state elected by	Cameral structure	Assembly-independent republic adopted	Previous government form	Notes
Federated States of Micronesia	Wesley Simina	Parliament, by majority	Unicameral	1986	UN Trust Territory (Part of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)	The president is assisted by the vice-president, both of whom are elected by the FSM Congress from among the at-large members to serve for four-year terms.
San Marino	Francesco Mussoni Giacomo Simoncini	Parliament	Unicameral	1291	Theocracy (part of the Papal States)	Two collective heads of state and heads of government, the Captains Regent
Suriname	Chan Santokhi	Parliament	Unicameral	1987	Full parliamentary republic
Directorial systems
Country	Head of state	Head of state elected by	Cameral structure	Parliamentary republic adopted	Previous government form	Notes
Switzerland	Guy Parmelin Ignazio Cassis Ueli Maurer Simonetta Sommaruga Alain Berset Karin Keller-Sutter Viola Amherd	Parliament by exhaustive ballot at a joint sitting of both houses	Bicameral	1848	Confederation of states	Also has citizen-initiated referendums

List of former parliamentary republics and related systems

Country	Became a parliamentary republic	Status changed	Changed to	Reason for change	Notes
Full parliamentary republics
SSR Abkhazia	1921	1931	One-party parliamentary republic	Creation of the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman One-party system under the Communist Party of Abkhazia
Abkhaz ASSR	1931	1991	Full parliamentary republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman until 1990 One-party system under the Communist Party of Abkhazia
Abkhazia	1991	1994	Semi-presidential republic	New constitution adopted
First Republic of Armenia	1918	1920	One-party parliamentary republic	Creation of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic
Armenian SSR	1920	1991	Multi-party semi-presidential republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman until 1990 One-party system under the Communist Party of Armenia
First Austrian Republic	1920	1929	Semi-presidential system	Constitutional amendment
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic	1918	1920	One-party parliamentary republic	Creation of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
Azerbaijan SSR	1920	1990	Presidential republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman One-party system under the Communist Party of Azerbaijan
Belarusian Democratic Republic	1918	1920	One-party parliamentary republic	Creation of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
Byelorussian SSR	1920	1990	Full parliamentary republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman One-party system under the Communist Party of Byelorussia
Belarus	1990	1994	Presidential republic	New constitution adopted
Brazil	1961	1963	Presidential system	Referendum
Burma (present-day Myanmar)	1948	1962	Military dictatorship	1962 Burmese coup d'état
Chile	1891	1924	Military junta	1924 Chilean coup d'état
	1925	1925	Presidential system	New constitution
Republic of China	1947	1972 (de facto)	Presidential system	Constitution suspended	The provisions establishing a parliamentary republic remain in the Constitution which is generally in effect, but are suspended by the Additional Articles, which have a sunset clause that will terminate them in the event of a hypothetical resumption of ROC rule in mainland China.
		1991 (de jure; nominally remains parliamentary)	Semi-presidential system	Additional articles of the Constitution adopted
First Czechoslovak Republic	1920	1939	One-party state	Munich agreement
Third Czechoslovak Republic	1945	1948	One-party parliamentary republic	Coup d'état
Fourth Czechoslovak Republic	1948	1989	Multi-party parliamentary republic	Velvet Revolution	One-party system under the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Fifth Czechoslovak Republic	1989	1992	State dissolved	Velvet Divorce
State of East Indonesia	1946	1950	State dissolved	Merged to the Republic of Indonesia
First Republic of Estonia	1920	1934	One-party parliamentary republic	1934 Estonian coup d'état	In June 1940, Estonia was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union.
	1934	1938	One-party presidential republic	New constitution adopted
French Third Republic	1870	1940	Puppet state	World War II German occupation
French Fourth Republic	1946	1958	Semi-presidential system	New constitution adopted
Democratic Republic of Georgia	1918	1921	One-party parliamentary republic	Creation of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia
Georgian SSR	1921	1991	Multi-party semi-presidential republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman until 1990 One-party system under the Communist Party of Georgia
Guyana	1970	1980	Assembly-independent republic	New constitution adopted
Hungary	1946	1949	One-party state	Creation of the People's Republic of Hungary
Indonesia	1945	1959	Presidential system	Presidential constitution reinstated
Israel	1948	1996	Semi-parliamentary system	Constitutional amendment
Kenya	2008	2013	Presidential system	New constitution and elections	A separate Prime Minister existed between 2008 and 2013 The switch to a fully presidential system was legislated in 2010, but only took effect in 2013.
Second Republic of Korea	1960	1961	Military junta	16 May coup
Kazakh SSR	1936	1990	Presidential republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman One-party system under the Communist Party of Kazakhstan
Kirghiz SSR	1936	1990	Presidential republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman One-party system under the Communist Party of Kirghizia
Kyrgyzstan	2010	2021	Presidential republic	Referendum	The 2010 Constitution of Kyrgyzstan introduced a parliamentary system to the country while remaining a de facto semi-presidential republic, with the President retaining many forms of executive powers such as appointing a Prime Minister as the head of government. The decision was subjected to a parliamentary vote of confidence.
First Republic of Latvia	1922	1934	One-party parliamentary republic	1934 Latvian coup d'état	In June 1940, Latvia was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union.
	1934	1940	State dissolved	World War II Soviet occupation
First Republic of Lithuania	1920	1926	One-party state	1926 Lithuanian coup d'état	In June 1940, Lithuania was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union.
Lithuania	1990	1992	Multi-party semi-presidential republic	New constitution adopted	In February 1993, Lithuania holds its first presidential election since the state re-established.
Moldavian SSR (present-day Moldova)	1940	1990	Multi-party semi-presidential republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman One-party system under the Communist Party of Moldavia
Nigeria	1963	1966	Military dictatorship (which led in 1979 to the democratic, presidential Second Nigerian Republic)	Coup d'état
Pakistan	1956	1958	Military dictatorship	1958 Pakistani coup d'état
	1973	1978		1977 Pakistani coup d'état
	1997	1999		1999 Pakistani coup d'état
	2002	2003	Assembly-independent republic	Constitutional amendment
Second Polish Republic	1919	1935	Presidential system	New constitution adopted
First Portuguese Republic	1911	1926	Military dictatorship (which led in 1933 to the Estado Novo one-party presidential republic)	28 May coup
First Philippine Republic (Malolos Republic)	1899	1901	Military dictatorship (De facto United States Colony)	Capture of Emilio Aguinaldo to the American forces
Fourth Philippine Republic	1973	1981	Semi-presidential system (de facto Military dictatorship under Martial Law between 1972 and 1986.)	Constitutional amendment
Republic of the Congo	1960	1965	Military dictatorship (De facto one-party state)	1965 Congolese coup d'état
Rhodesia	1970	1979	Parliamentary system	Creation of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia	Political rights were restricted to the white minority
Russian SFSR	1917	1991	Multi-party semi-presidential republic	Referendum
Soviet Union	1922	1990	Multi-party semi-presidential republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman until 1989 One-party system under the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
First Spanish Republic	1873	1874	Constitutional monarchy	Restoration of the monarchy
Second Spanish Republic	1931	1939	One-party state (which declared itself a constitutional monarchy in 1947)	Coup d'état
Suriname	1975	1987	Assembly-independent republic	New constitution adopted
Sri Lanka	1972	1978	Semi-presidential system	New constitution adopted
Syrian Republic	1930	1958	State dissolved	Creation of the United Arab Republic	Merged into the United Arab Republic, which operated as a One-party presidential system
Syrian Arab Republic	1961	1963	One-party presidential system	1963 Syrian coup d'état
Transvaal Republic	1852	1902	Colony of the British Empire	Second Boer War
Tajik SSR	1929	1990	Presidential republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman One-party system under the Communist Party of Tajikistan
Turkey	1923	2018	Presidential system	Referendum
Turkmen SSR	1925	1990	Presidential republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman One-party system under the Communist Party of Turkmenistan
Uganda	1963	1966	One-party state	Suspension of the constitution
Ukrainian People's Republic	1917	1918	Client state	1918 Ukrainian coup d'état
	1918	1919	One-party parliamentary republic	Creation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
		1921	State dissolved	Treaty of Riga
Ukrainian SSR	1919	1991	Multi-party semi-presidential republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman until 1990 One-party system under the Communist Party of Ukraine
Uzbek SSR	1924	1990	Presidential republic	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman One-party system under the Communist Party of Uzbekistan
Yugoslavia	1945	1953	Parliamentary republic with an executive presidency	Constitutional amendment	Had a collective head of state with a distinct chairman One-party system under the Communist Party of Yugoslavia
Zimbabwe Rhodesia	1979	1979	Dependent territory	Reversion to Southern Rhodesia
Zimbabwe	1980	1987	Presidential system	Constitutional amendment
Parliamentary republics with an executive presidency
Country	Became a parliamentary republic with an executive presidency	Status changed	Changed to	Reason for change	Notes
Gambia	1970	1982	Presidential system	Constitutional amendment	The president was elected semi-directly by a constituency-based double simultaneous vote, with vacancies filled by Parliament; a motion of no confidence automatically entailed snap parliamentary elections. Presidential elections were made fully direct and separate from parliamentary elections in 1982.
Kenya	1964	2008	Full parliamentary system	Coalition and power-sharing	Originally, the president was elected semi-directly by a constituency-based double simultaneous vote, with vacancies filled by Parliament; a motion of no confidence automatically entailed either the resignation of the president or snap parliamentary elections. Presidential elections were made fully direct in 1969, including after a vacancy, but their schedule remained linked to the parliamentary elections. A separate Prime Minister existed between 2008 and 2013.
Yugoslavia	1953	1963	Assembly-independent republic	New constitution	One-party system under the League of Communists of Yugoslavia
Assembly-independent systems
Country	Became an assembly- independent republic	Status changed	Changed to	Reason for change	Notes
First Republic of Ghana	1960	1966	Military dictatorship (Which led to the fully parliamentary Second Republic of Ghana)	Coup d'état
Pakistan	1985	1997	Full parliamentary republic	Constitutional amendment
	2003	2010		Constitutional amendment
Serbia and Montenegro	1992	2000	Semi-presidential republic	Constitutional amendment
Tanganyika	1962	1964	State dissolved	Creation of the United Republic of Tanzania	Merged into the United Republic of Tanzania, which operated as a One-party presidential system
Yugoslavia	1963	1980	Directorial republic	New constitution and the death of Josip Broz Tito	One-party system under the League of Communists of Yugoslavia The change to a directorial system was legislated in 1973, but only took effect in 1980.
Directorial systems
Yugoslavia	1980	1992	—	Breakup of Yugoslavia	One-party system under the League of Communists of Yugoslavia

See also

• List of countries by system of government
• Constitutional monarchy
• Parliamentary system
• Republic
• Republicanism
• Semi-presidential system
• Semi-parliamentary system