Semi-parliamentary system

Semi-parliamentary system can refer to either a prime-ministerial system, in which voters simultaneously vote for both members of legislature and the prime minister,[1] or to a system of government in which the legislature is split into two parts that are both directly elected – one that has the power to remove the members of the executive by a vote of no confidence and another that does not.[2] The former was first proposed by Maurice Duverger, who used it to refer to Israel from 1996 to 2001.[1] The second was identified by German academic Steffen Ganghof.[2]

Systems of government
Republican forms of government:   Presidential republics with an executive presidency separate from the legislature   Semi-presidential system with both an executive presidency and a separate head of government that leads the rest of the executive, who is appointed by the president and accountable to the legislature   Parliamentary republics with a ceremonial and non-executive president, where a separate head of government leads the executive and is dependent on the confidence of the legislature   Republics in which a combined head of state and government is elected by, or nominated by, the legislature and may or may not be subject to parliamentary confidence   One-party states Monarchical forms of government:   Constitutional monarchies with a ceremonial and non-executive monarch, where a separate head of government leads the executive   Semi-constitutional monarchies with a ceremonial monarch, but where royalty still hold significant executive or legislative power   Absolute monarchies where the monarch leads the executive   Countries where constitutional provisions for government have been suspended   Countries which do not fit any of the above systems (e.g. provisional government or unclear political situations)

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In a prime-ministerial system, as in standard parliamentary systems, the prime minister can still be dismissed by a vote of no confidence, this however effectively causes a snap election for both the prime minister and the legislature (a rule commonly expressed by the brocard aut simul stabunt aut simul cadent, Latin for "they will either stand together, or fall together").

Like semi-presidential systems, semi-parliamentary systems are a strongly rationalized form of parliamentary systems. After Israel decided to abolish the direct election of prime ministers in 2001, there are no national prime-ministerial systems in the world; however, a prime-ministerial system is used in Israeli and Italian cities and towns to elect mayors and councils. There are two national and five subnational examples of the other type of semi-parliamentarism still in existence today—the national examples of Australia and Japan and the subnational examples of the five bicameral Australian states.[2]