What is Semi-Presidentialism?

Semi-presidentialism is a system of government that consists of a dual authority or shared power between the President and Prime Minister, who has the parliamentary support, has as a prototype the 5th Republic French.

The main characteristic of semi-presidentialism is the alternation of the parliamentary and presidential systems:

The head of state (president) is elected by popular vote.
The head of state shares executive power with a Prime Minister.
The president is independent of the parliament.
The prime minister and his cabinet are independent of the president, since they depend on the parliament.
The President does not have the power to fire the Prime Minister.
There are balances of power.

The main weakness of the semi-presidential system is the ease of having a divided majority that leads to conflict and stagnation and finds the “change of mind” as its only solution.
The most outstanding cases of semi-presidential systems are:

• Weimar Germany: parliamentary system countered by a strong presidency.
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• Portugal: Imitation of the French model.
• Sri Lanka: The president has unilateral and discretionary power.
• Final day.