Comparative between two countries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Comparative between two countries - Essay Example The US government is divided into 3 branches that enable its separation of powers, distinguish the control and power the US president receives once elected, and that of the British prime minister who operates in an undivided government. The party systems of both the US and Britain have a common element of the two party system that impact differently on their governance. Constitution The original constitution in USA resembled a version of the former constitution of Great Britain that came with the colonists, who settled on American land with the hope of reforming the rule to avoid oppression that they experienced under the British system of government back then. A central government was hence formed from the alliances of the different states under a written and signed constitution in 1787 that guides in governing the US, and in its distribution of power (â€Å"A more perfect† archives.gov). The constitution hence takes the center place as a superior authority over the law of th e land, from which the judiciary interprets in their regular reviews to make judgments based on the legislature, as expressed in the constitution. On the other hand, the British constitution remains customary and unwritten (lack a single constitutional document), such that though the constitution exists, it occurs in distinguishable documents (Williams 13). The sources of its constitution are fragmented into international treaties and agreements, the common law of judicial interpretation, statute law by parliament, and conventions. These differences in existence of the constitution influence their flexibility to amend their constitutions when need be. The lack of codification of the British constitution makes it more flexible and able to evolve with political circumstances, since all that is required is the majority of the parliament to make changes, while the US constitution can be termed as rigid in its codified manner, requiring two thirds of both the senate and house representat ive, and three quarters of the individual state’s legislature to amend it (Wlliams 13-4). Basically, the US constitution tends to involve different levels of authority from the national figure to all states power, which makes it difficult to change the constitution because of the embedded original idea of federalism. For example, the USA has had about 11000 amendment attempts since 1789, with only 27 being successful after 230 years (Becerra politifact.com) , compared to Britain that recorded numerous reforms affecting referendums, electoral, regional governments and house of lords activities within 1992 to 2001 (â€Å"Constitutional reform† historylearningsite.co.uk). The procedure in theUS is quite onerous and intends to prevent arbitrary changes to the original documents, which is extensive enough to allow participation of the relevant authority right from states to national levels that support efficient decision making without being politically biased. Electoral sy stem The US and British elections are conducted by means of secret ballot, involve prior campaigns, and hold by-elections to replace vacant seats in the parliaments. However, there are numerous variations in requirements for electing individuals into branches of the government, in terms