Sixty two percent of Americans voted in 2004 presidential election. This was the highest number of voters in forty-five years. Apparently something is askew; the percentage should be so much higher. We are still one of the few industrial countries that doggedly clings to an archaic presidential government system that consists of only two parties.

Regretfully this two party system excludes all other parties and other viewpoints as well.

If the United States really wants more Americans to vote in the 2008 presidential election it will have to open the election field to other credible parties and other credible viewpoints. The American people want their voices heard and their votes counted.

Presently most Americans feel that their votes do not count, their voices are not being heard, and their wishes are being denied. 

 It is time for change; it is time for an American Parliamentary system.

Let’s take a step back in world history; can we examine one of the oldest European governing bodies? In the mid-13^th Century, the Parliament became the governing body in the United Kingdom. Much like the United States Congress, Parliament is the main foundation for ruling its people. Most countries use the system of a Prime Minister as the head of the upper governing body (House of Lords) and a President head of the lower government body (House of Commons). These two governing bodies labor together to make this system work. The Senate and the House are the governing bodies in the United States. Several other countries have different forms of the parliamentary governmental systems. Asia, Africa, and Latin America, even our neighbor to the north Canada are such countries governed by parliament.

It is interesting to note that there are many similarities and differences in the most prevalent political systems in the world. Let’s take a look at some of the similarities and differences in these two systems.

Parliament creates laws in the United Kingdom; Congress does the same in the United States. By voting for taxation, Parliament provides for the means of carrying on the work of the government; it is similar in the United States, but the President can also write laws for the American public. This does not happen in the United Kingdom.

In the United States the President can veto any congressional law and in turn the American Congress can override any presidential veto by a two-thirds vote.

Protecting the public and safeguarding the rights of individuals is true in both governing systems. Parliament scrutinizes government policies and administration, which includes proposals for expenditures. In the United States, each state has its own governing body with the assistance of the federal government.

Parliament examines European proposals before they become law. Parliament presides, over appeals in the House of Lords, the highest Court of Appeal in Great Britain.  The Supreme Court serves this purpose in the United States.  Parliament debates major issues of the day; the mirror image of this in the United States is the House and Senate. The Parliament has a maximum duration of serving five years. General election can be held for a new House of Commons at any time within this period. Presidential elections are held in the United States every four years and there are national mid-year elections every two-years. The President cannot be removed until his/her term is finished, unlike the British where a Prime Minister can be removed with a vote of confidence.  

If America were to hold a vote of confidence today President Bush would be removed from the White House, this would have also happened in the summer of 2001. Could this be the main reason why the American political machine fights even the suggestion of changing our political system? The two present American parties just squash all other parties whenever they appear.

The one distinct advantage that parliamentary system has over the democratic system is the influx of two to nine parities. This means there are many different ideas and many different ways to correct a political problem. The Green Party, The American Party, The Libertarian Party, The Labour Party (UK, Ireland Scotland, Germany and France), The Socialist Party, The Islamic Party, the Communist Party, and The Freedom Party all have a say in European politics. Unfortunately this does not occur in the United States. Our system stifles the imagination of bright, new political aspirants and silences bright stars by it. The American people lose with a system that does not accept party differences; a system that does not accept any new political thought.

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