In Presidential government, the Executive is not responsible to the legislature. It is based on the principle of ‘Separation of powers’. It is known as non-responsible system or fixed executive system. E.g. USA.
Features of presidential government.:
1. Separation of powers: The Presidential government is based on Montesquieu concept of “separation of powers”. The concept of separation powers contend that the legislature, executive and judiciary must be independent of each other and function independently. Legislature performs the task of law making, executive law implementation and judiciary interpretation of laws.
2. Checks and Balances: Presidential government is based on checks and balances. Though the legislature, executive and judiciary function independently, complete separation is not only desirable but also impractical. To maintain the exercise of power balanced, controlled and wide spread each organ is given a fair degree of power in one another ’* functional area.
3. Executive is not responsible to legislature: The president in U *.A is directly elected by the people and hence is not responsible to legislature. The president can’t participate in the proceedings of the congress. He can neither initiate a bill nor pilots it. The President is not accountable to anyone but the constitution and the people.
4. Real Executive: In presidential government, the president is directly elected by the people. The president is not only the real executive but also the head of government. He is directly responsible for all happenings in the country.
5. Secretaries directly responsible to president: The secretaries known as presidents’ ‘Brain Trust’ are appointed by the president and stay in office as long as they enjoy the confidence of the president. The President may remove any secretary without assigning any reason. Secretaries are neither responsible to congress nor to the people but to the president. The President can hire or **** secretaries.
6. Fixed Tenure: The President does not depend on the congress for his survival. He is directly elected for a ** of 4 years and lasts his full term. He cannot be removed from office except on grounds of inefficiency and proven misbehavior through an impeachment motion.
