The idea that heads of state be elected directly by the people progressed slowly throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This differs from parliamentary systems where executives derive power from the legislative body.
Africa Many African nations have moved from parliamentary to presidential systems. Regardless of constitutional structures, presidents often have immense power over other political decision-making bodies. Given this power, much of the political violence around elections stems from the elections of presidents. Additionally, recent coups and conflict have postponed direct presidential elections in several African countries.
Asia The overwhelming majority of democracies in Asia are parliamentary, rather than presidential systems. Based on constitutional design, the Philippines is the only head of state elected by popular vote. South Korea has an even stronger presidential system as well a directly-elected head of state based on changes in 1987 to its constitution.
Europe The first major European country to use direct elections was France (1848). However, if no candidate received a majority of the vote the
National Assembly chose the winner from the top five candidates. As the so-called
Second Republic only lasted for one presidential term, this never happened. Germany (the
Weimar Republic) was the first European country to use direct election of a president without intervention by the legislature. Both these systems were replaced by autocratic systems within a number of years, with indirect presidential elections instated with the restoration of democracy (in 1871 and 1949, in
West Germany, respectively). Currently, Europe has a mix of
parliamentary republics,
presidential republics, where the president is elected directly by the people, and
semi-presidential republics - including contemporary France - which have a president elected directly and a prime minister responsible to the parliament.
Colonial legacies A major debate exists regarding colonial legacies and the promotion of democracy around the world. In terms of direct elections, former British colonies are less likely to hold direct elections for heads of state. Additionally no monarchies have direct elections for head of state since by definition the head of state is unelected.
North America United States received less of the popular vote than their opponents. The conceptual origins of direct presidential elections stem from the
U.S. Constitution (1787) through the
Electoral College. The
Framers intended for a small group of electors, through methods determined by each state, to elect the president. Thus in practice this represents a form of indirect election.
South America Bolstered by opposition groups, institutional and constitutional change in the 1980s and 1990s led to direct elections of presidents in many South American countries. These changes created centralized power in presidential positions, often blurring the line of separation of powers and making them powerful decision-makers over the legislature and cabinet. == Advantages and disadvantages of directly electing the head of state ==