■ Appointment of the Head of the Executive

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§ Note: this is background material. The final handbook is available online in PDF format.

The ability of the legislature to appoint the head of the executive allows the legislature an amount of influence over the executive branch. Therefore the presence of this appointment ability in a constitution indicates a degree of strength in the legislature. In some countries that have both a prime minster and a president, the legislature appoints one but not the other. Legislative strength is indicated where the legislature appoints the most powerful office in the executive.

Appointment by Legislature
Commonly, a parliament has the power to appoint a prime minster. This power is also indicated in arrangements in which the head of state is required to appoint the candidate with the greatest support in the legislature. Other legislatures that have the power to appoint a president, where the president fills the roll of head of the executive. More information

Provisions

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia (1993, as Amended to 1999)Article 19The King shall appoint the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers according to the procedures stipulated in Article 100 [current Article 119].Article 119- New (Previously Article 100): At the recommendation of the Chairman and with the agreement of both the Vice-Chairmen of the National Assembly, the King shall designate a dignitary from among the representatives of the winning party to form the Royal Government. This designated representative along with other members chosen from the political parties or represented in the National Assembly, then present themselves to the National Assembly to ask for a vote of confidence.After the National Assembly has given its vote of confidence, the King shall issue a Royal Decree (Kret) appointing the entire Council of Ministers.

The Instrument of Government of the Kingdom of Sweden (1974, as Amended to 2002)Chapter 6 The GovernmentArticle 2When a Prime Minister is to be appointed, the Speaker summons for consultation representatives from each party group in the Riksdag. The Speaker confers with the Deputy Speakers before placing a proposal before the Riksdag.The Riksdag shall proceed to vote on the proposal no later than the fourth day following, without prior preparation in committee. If more than half the members of the Riksdag vote against the proposal, it is rejected. In any other case, it is adopted.The Constitution of Botswana  (1966, as Amended to 2002)Article 32. Election of President after dissolution of Parliament(1) Whenever Parliament is dissolved an election shall be held to the office of President in such manner as is prescribed by this section and, subject thereto, by or under an Act of Parliament.(3) The following provisions shall then apply—(a) a person nominated as a Parliamentary candidate may, at the time of his nomination and subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), declare in such manner as may be prescribed by or under an Act of Parliament which of the candidates in the election of President he supports, but the nomination of a Parliamentary candidate shall be valid notwithstanding that the nomination paper does not contain such a declaration;(d) the returning officer shall declare to be elected as President any candidate for whom support has been declared in accordance with paragraph (a) above by not less than such number of persons elected as Members of the National Assembly in the Parliamentary election as corresponds to more than half the total number of seats for Elected Members in the Assembly, and if there is no such person the returning officer shall declare that no candidate has been elected.

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996, as Amended to 2007)Article 86 Election of President (1) At its first sitting after its election, and whenever necessary to fill a vacancy, the National Assembly must elect a woman or a man from among its members to be the President.

Legislative Approval
In some countries, legislative consent is required to complete the appointment of the head of the executive. For instance, under some constitutions an elected president appoints the prime minister with the consent of the parliament. More information

Provisions

The Constitution of the Republic of Korea (1948, as Amended to 1987)Article 86(1) The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the National Assembly.Article 67(1) The President shall be elected by universal, equal, direct and secret ballot by the people.

Limited Legislative Involvement
A legislature may be uninvolved in the selection of the head of the executive. In countries where the head of the executive is also the head of state, the head of the executive is usually elected. Sometimes a head of the executive is appointed by another actor. For instance, in some countries an elected president appoints the prime minister. However, it is important to remember that members of government who are appointed without legislative approval may nevertheless be subject to a vote of no confidence by the parliament. More information

Provisions

The Constitution of the Plurinational State of Bolivia 2009Article 166 (I)The male or female President and the male or female Vice-President of the State will be elected by universal, mandatory, direct, free and secret suffrage.

Constitution of Sierra Leone (1991)40. Office of President.(1) There shall be a President of the Republic of Sierra Leone who shall be Head of State, the supreme executive authority of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.42. Election of President.(2) The following provisions shall apply to an election to the office of President—(a) all persons registered in Sierra Leone as voters for the purposes of election to Parliament shall be entitled to vote in the election;The Federal Constitutional Law of the Republic of Austria (1920, as Amended to 2004)Article 70(1) The Federal Chancellor and, on his proposal, the other members of the Federal Government are appointed by the Federal President.Article 60(1) The Federal President is elected by the people of the Federation (Bundesvolk) on the basis of equal, direct, secret and personal suffrage; if only one candidate runs in the election, the election must be carried out in the form of a referendum.

The Constitution of the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros (1996)Article 11The President of the Republic appoints the Prime Minister. Article 7The President of the Republic is elected by direct universal suffrage for a six-year term. …

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