The International Day of Parliamentarism is a holiday that’s observed annually on June 30th and celebrates ⁢the underlying principles of parliamentarism. What is parliamentarism? It is a system of democratic ‍governance of a subordinate​ entity or state where the executive derives its legitimacy from⁤ its ability‌ to⁤ command the confidence of the legislature.

There are two different types of parliamentary systems: unicameral (consisting of one chamber) and bicameral (consisting ⁣of two chambers). Countries that have a parliamentary democracy include Australia, ​Canada, Denmark, India, Israel, Japan, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, and ​the United Kingdom. Iceland has one of the oldest parliaments in the world, ⁢established during the ⁣10th century.

The History Of The International Day‌ of Parliamentarism

This⁣ holiday ⁣was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018. The date of June 30th was chosen because that is ⁤when the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)​ was established in 1889. Currently, the IPU is composed ‌of 178 member parliaments. The ‌International Day of Parliamentarism was first observed ‍in 2019.

Some Quick‌ Facts About Parliamentary Democracy

Below are​ a ​handful of things that we learned about parliamentary democracy. After we learned these facts, we⁣ knew that we had to share them​ with everyone, so that’s precisely what we did.

• Parliamentary democracy is different from a presidential democracy in that the parliament chooses the chief executive (prime minister).
• Over 50 countries currently operate under a parliamentary system.
• The​ powers of the prime minister may vary from one parliamentary system to another.

Observing The International Day of Parliamentarism

This holiday is mainly observed⁣ by the IPU. This organization and its members ⁣hold events such as‍ seminars, webinars, and exchange⁣ ideas around the concept of parliamentarism.

However, ordinary citizens can also observe this holiday by taking the ⁣time to learn ⁢more about parliamentary systems, the differences between various systems of government, and by spreading the word about it using the hashtag #InternationalDayOfParliamentarism.