Models of republics

There are of course many different kinds of democratic republic. Republic proposes a particular kind of republican constitution which retains the basic elements of a parliamentary democracy while replacing the monarch with an elected head of state. More detail can be found on our policy page.

Of course we recognise that there are a number of other alternatives on offer, alternatives supported by some of our members. We are a broad alliance of republicans - what unites us, and the various kinds of republican constitution on offer, are the principles of citizenship and democracy, a desire to achieve the best for Britain and a wish for a constitution that inspires responsibility and aspiration.

We believe that countries who call themselves republics but who are not democratic, and don't respect the authority of the people are not republics at all.

The many options for republican government

PARLIAMENTARY MODELS
• Directly elected president: Republic favours a model that is quite similar to the current British constitution. Parliament would remain in place, the government would still be drawn from the House of Commons. The fundamental differences are that we would have a written constitution, clearly setting out and limiting the powers of parliament and government. And of course the head of state would be a directly elected by the people. The president would hold certain limited powers but on the whole her role would be as our highest representative and titular head. Our nearest neighbour, the Republic of Ireland, has a system similar to this.
• Indirectly elected president: Some favour a similar system to the one proposed by Republic, but with the president chosen by parliament. The president would serve a similar role but would be accountable to parliament rather than to the people. The German constitution operates along these lines, although it is not parliament alone that votes for the president. A Federal Convention is convened to cast votes for the president, which is made up of all members of the national parliament plus delegates from each of the states within Germany.

  Proponents of this model suggest that it would ensure the president didn't compete with parliament or the prime minister for power. Republic believes this would not be a problem in any republic in which the powers of the president were clearly defined and limited. We also believe that the model proposed should be the most democratic model available, giving the people the most direct say in who their representatives are.

• No president: Others propose a parliamentary system in which the post of head of state is scrapped altogether. The roles and powers of head of state would be shared by the prime minister, parliament and the Speaker of the House of Commons. Republic believes there is a potentially vital role a president can play in acting as a guardian of the constitution, an additional check against the power of parliament and government and as our highest elected representative.

EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT MODEL

• The most commonly supported model, after the parliamentary one we support, is the executive presidential system similar to the one in the US.

  In this model the head of state is simultaneously the head of government, and thus holds the chief executive office of the state. In the USA, for instance, the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has the power to veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the cabinet and other officers in charge of administering and enforcing federal laws and policies. The US president serves a four-year term and may be re-elected only once - strictly speaking, he is not elected by direct popular vote, but by an electoral college system in which voters elect representatives who then cast votes for the president.

  This system involves a complete separation of parliament and government. In the US the Congress, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, passes legislation and federal budgets. The president is elected quite separately from any elections to the Congress.

HYBRID MODELS

• A hybrid model is one which combines the parliamentary and presidential systems. The offices of head of state and head of government are separate, with both playing a substantial executive role in the administering of the state. In France, for instance, the executive branch consists of a president who is directly elected by popular vote to serve a five-year term and the government, led by the prime minister, who is selected by the president. Because the prime minister must enjoy the support of the lower house, which is elected separately from the president, it is possible in semi-presidential republics for the head of state and the head of government to come from opposing political factions.