Ruling the country is not an easy task. One should be very strong so that they can easily handle the people and provide the best solution for them. A president and a prime minister are very important for a country to handle people and for solving their problems. Without them, a country cannot function properly. Every country will have its own rules and regulations for the president and prime minister.
President vs Prime Minister
The main difference between President and Prime Minister is that a president is referred to as the head of a state of a county. A Prime minister is referred to as the leader of the government of a country. A president is like a rubber stamp whereas a prime minister holds all the political powers in their hand. A president is an indirectly elected member whereas a prime minister is a directly elected member.
The important role of the president is to carry out the laws that are passed by congress. Some of the good qualities that a president should have are they should see the country’s future with a strong vision, have effective communication skills, good character, and integrity, courage to make unpopular decisions, manage the crisis, in the perspective of history they should have the ability to put their own times.
A prime minister can command a legislative assembly. In a parliamentary system, they can set a national agenda, can appoint cabinet ministers, and governs the coalition of parties. The decision of the prime minister is final in the country and everyone should follow that including the president. This happens because they are the leader of the nation.
Comparison Table Between President and Prime Minister
| Parameters of Comparison | President | Prime Minister |
| Oath | They take oath in front of the chief justice | They take oath in front of the president |
| Election | Elected by the electoral college | Directly elected by the people |
| Head | They are the head of a country | They are the head of the cabinet and council of ministers |
| Judicial power | They have authority over judicial power | They have no authority over judicial power |
| State of emergency | They have no power in declaring a state of emergency | They have all the powers in declaring a state of emergency |
What is President?
President is the head of a republic. They must preserve, defend, and protect the constitution. They also take an oath to protect the law of India. The electoral college will indirectly elect them. The electoral college will have both parties called the parliament of India and legislative assemblies. Some of the main roles of the president are chief of state, chief administrator, commander in chief, party chief, , chief diplomat, and chief citizen.
For becoming a president, the person should have certain qualities. They should be a citizen of India, their age should be 35 years or above, and they should be qualified for becoming a member of the Lok Sabha. Certain office holders can stand in the presidential election. They can be a current vice president and a minister of union that includes both prime minister and chief minister. The president can make treaties by getting approval from the senate.
During a war, they can act as a commander in chief. They can lead their political party. They can recognize foreign countries. They can entertain foreign guests, grant pardons, appoint ambassadors, and talk directly to the people about their problems. Some of the things a president cannot do such as making laws, deciding the federal money to be spent in different ways, declaring wars, interpreting laws, without senate approval they cannot choose cabinet ministers or supreme court justices.
What is Prime Minister?
They get elected by the people of the country. They will select the prime minister by voting their favorite person during the election. This election happens every 5 years. In many systems, they are the pressing member and the chairman of the cabinet. They can select and dismiss the members of the cabinet. They can be a member of any two houses.
They can be either in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. But they have to be a member of a political party and should have a majority in Lok Sabha. They are the senior-most member in the cabinet. Their office will ensure that the activities of the prime minister flow correctly without any interruptions. Some of the main duties of the prime minister are formally heading the government, allocating various departments to ministers, and acting as an executive in cabinet decisions.
In India, prime ministers have real and more powers. They take all the decisions but they cannot do this alone. They have to do this with different groups of people. In some other countries, a president will have more powers. It differs from country to country and its laws and regulations. For example, if we take the United States of America, a president will have more power in their hand, than a prime minister.
Main Differences Between President and Prime Minister
- A president will take an oath in front of the chief justice. On the other hand, a prime minister will take an oath in front of the president.
- Electoral college will elect the president. On the other hand, a prime minister is directly elected by the people through an election which is held every 5 years.
- A president is the head of the country. On the other hand, a prime minister is the head of the cabinet and council of ministers.
- A president has authority over judicial power. On the other hand, a prime minister has no authority over judicial power.
- A president has no powers in declaring a state of emergency. On the other hand, a prime minister has all power in declaring a state of emergency.
Conclusion
Both of them are very important so that a country can cherish, develop, and prosper. Every country has its own ways of electing them. In some countries, elections will be held for choosing them. In other countries, the president will be given more importance than a prime minister. In India, a prime minister is given more importance than a president.
It can be explained with a simple example. A president is like a grandfather. After some years, he will be old. A prime minister is like a father. He will start to take care of the family. The same thing will happen in reality to the president and prime minister in the country. Their serving period is also 5 years. If people are willing, then they can again serve for another 5 years.
References
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2006.00604.x
- https://academic.oup.com/pa/article-abstract/58/1/53/1534861