PO210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Bicameralism, Primary And Secondary Legislation, Responsible Government
Document Summary
Presidential: strong emphasis on the separation of powers. Parliamentary: weaker emphasis on the separation of powers; power held by responsible government (government is responsible to the people; a cabinet that is elected) Mixed systems: features qualities that belong to both. Unitary states: central government controls an entirely political territory (uk, france) Federal states: sovereign authority is divided between central government and the governments of provinces or states (canada, us) Parliament at the federal level and legislative assemblies at the provincial level. The house is elected and composed of 228 seats. Allotted by province roughly on the basis of population. The electoral process follows a first-past-the- post system; candidate with the greatest amount of votes in a given riding wins the seats. Party discipline: principle observed when voting on matters in the legislature: elected officials are expected to vote along party lines officials are expected to vote along party lines.
