A parliamentary vote is an official way to record a member’s choice of motion. This type of voting is used in most parliamentary democracies.
Parliamentary votes can be made in many ways, and the method depends on the country’s legislative system. Some countries use a “first-past-the-post” system, which allows voters to choose individual candidates for office. The candidate who receives the most votes wins the seat in the legislature. Other countries use a party-based system, which allows voters to choose one or more political parties. The winning party then selects the members of its legislature, called a parliament or congress. The leader of the executive branch, also known as a prime minister or head of government, is chosen by the parliament or congress.
In most parliamentary systems, the roles of the executive and legislative branches are blurred or merged. The head of state (or queen or king) may return a bill to the legislature to signify disagreement with it, but this does not act as a veto. In addition, most parliamentary systems have a special constitutional court with the right of judicial review that can declare a law unconstitutional if it violates provisions in the supreme law of the land, the constitution.
The parliamentary system is popular among some political groups because it is considered to be more democratic than the presidential alternative, which is argued to be less so. Advocates of parliamentary democracy also argue that it provides more protection for minorities, because it can allow coalition governments to be formed that include minority parties and interests.