AP Comparative Government: Legislative Branches

How is Mexico's Congress of the Union structured?

Mexico has a bicameral legislature called the Congress of the Union. The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house and the Senate is the upper house.

Explain Mexico's mixed-member majoritarian electoral system.

Mexico combines single-member district elections with proportional party-list seats. The proportional seats do not simply compensate for disproportional district results as they would in a mixed-member proportional system.

How are Mexico's 300 geographic district deputies elected?

Each of 300 districts elects one deputy. The candidate with the most votes wins even without a majority which is plurality or first-past-the-post voting.

How do Mexico's 200 proportional party-list seats work?

Voters also cast a vote for a political party and seats are allocated based on the party's share of the qualifying vote in five multi-state regions. This allows smaller parties to gain representation without winning individual districts.

How are seats allocated in Mexico's Senate?

The 128 seats include 64 for the winning party ticket in each of 32 federal entities and 32 for the runner-up party ticket in each entity. The remaining 32 seats are elected through nationwide proportional representation based on party votes.

What powers does Mexico's Congress exercise as a legislature?

It passes amends and repeals federal laws and approves federal revenue and taxation measures. It also oversees the executive and participates in constitutional amendments with the ability to override a presidential veto by required supermajorities.

Compare the exclusive powers of Mexico's Senate and Chamber of Deputies.

The Senate approves treaties and certain presidential appointments and conducts trials in specified impeachment proceedings. The Chamber of Deputies has exclusive approval of the federal expenditure budget and initiates impeachment accusations.

Describe Nigeria's National Assembly and its two chambers.

Nigeria's National Assembly is bicameral and includes the Senate as the upper house and the House of Representatives as the lower house. Both chambers can debate and pass legislation approve the budget and hold oversight hearings.

How are the 109 seats in Nigeria's Senate distributed?

Each of Nigeria's 36 states elects three senators and the Federal Capital Territory elects one. Senators are directly elected by popular vote and represent geographically defined senatorial districts.

How are members of Nigeria's House of Representatives elected?

The House has 360 members elected from 360 federal constituencies. Each constituency elects one representative through a single-member plurality election.

Compare the electoral systems of Nigeria and Mexico's lower houses.

Nigeria uses plurality elections in both chambers including first-past-the-post elections for House representatives. Mexico combines plurality district elections with proportional party-list seats for its Chamber of Deputies.

What are the main powers of Nigeria's National Assembly?

The National Assembly passes federal legislation and authorizes government spending and taxation. It investigates agencies and executive officials while the Senate confirms certain appointments and both chambers participate in impeachment and constitutional amendment processes.

How does Nigeria's presidential system shape legislative-executive relations?

The president and National Assembly are elected independently and the president heads the executive while the Assembly exercises federal legislative power. The president can veto legislation while the Assembly can override vetoes and the Senate confirms ministerial nominees.

Why can Nigeria's legislature not remove a president through a vote of no confidence?

Nigeria has a presidential system and removal instead uses a constitutional impeachment process with investigation and legislative supermajorities. This differs from the UK's parliamentary confidence process which can bring down a government.

Compare Mexico and Nigeria's national legislative election systems.

Both are federal presidential republics with bicameral legislatures and neither removes its president through a legislative confidence vote. Nigeria uses plurality elections while Mexico combines plurality and proportional representation.

How is the United Kingdom Parliament structured and what does the Commons do?

Parliament is bicameral with the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The elected Commons debates and passes legislation approves the budget holds committee hearings and questions the prime minister.

Compare the legislative roles of the UK's House of Commons and House of Lords.

The Commons approves legislation and the budget and can question the prime minister. The Lords reviews and amends bills and can delay legislation but the Commons can remove Lords amendments by a simple majority.

What do majority party loyal opposition and coalition government mean in the UK Parliament?

The party with the majority of votes becomes the majority party and the party with the second most votes is the loyal opposition. A coalition government occurs when no party wins a majority.

What is the consequence of a failed confidence vote in the UK House of Commons?

A failed vote of confidence dissolves the government and the prime minister calls for new elections. The overall vote in the Commons matters rather than whether every governing-party MP supports the prime minister.

Explain how party discipline affects UK parliamentary government.

Party discipline is very important in British politics and voting is highly organized around political parties. A confidence vote can defeat a government even when only a small number of governing-party MPs oppose it if the overall House vote is lost.

Who are backbenchers in the UK House of Commons?

Backbenchers are MPs who do not hold senior government or opposition frontbench positions. They may belong to either the governing party or an opposition party.

Scenario: A UK prime minister's party holds 340 of 650 seats but 25 governing-party backbenchers join the opposition against a bill. What can happen and why?

The bill can lose because the government MPs supporting it would number 315 while 335 MPs oppose it if all others vote along party lines. This shows that governing-party backbenchers can challenge party leadership and weaken the government's parliamentary majority.

What roles can UK backbenchers perform?

Backbenchers vote on legislation represent their constituencies question ministers and serve on parliamentary committees. They can also challenge their party's leadership and introduce private members' bills.

What is the UK's Shadow Cabinet and what does it do?

The largest opposition party normally forms a Shadow Cabinet led by the opposition leader. Shadow ministers scrutinize government decisions propose alternatives hold the government accountable and prepare to govern.

Compare UK backbenchers with Shadow Cabinet members.

Backbenchers have no ministerial office and need no special appointment while Shadow Cabinet members are selected by the party leader from the main opposition party. Both can vote on legislation and challenge the prime minister but shadow ministers cannot direct government departments.

What are the UK's House of Lords membership categories and legislative limits?

Hereditary peers hold seats passed down through family ties while life peers are appointed for distinguished service. The Lords can debate technical details and amend or delay legislation but the Commons can delete amendments by a simple majority.

How does UK parliamentary dissolution lead to a general election?

The prime minister requests dissolution and the monarch formally dissolves Parliament under the usual constitutional convention. Commons seats become vacant and a general election elects 650 MPs while Lords membership continues.

Describe the two chambers of Russia's Federal Assembly.

Russia's Federal Assembly is bicameral with the directly elected State Duma as the lower house and the Federation Council as the upper house. The Duma represents the people while the Federation Council represents federal regions.

How are members of Russia's State Duma elected?

The Duma has 450 deputies elected through a mixed system. 225 are elected from single-member geographic districts and 225 through proportional representation using party lists.

What powers does Russia's State Duma have?

The Duma passes federal laws approves the president's nominee for prime minister and can hold a vote of no confidence in the government. It also exercises limited oversight of the executive.

Scenario: The Russian State Duma passes a no-confidence vote and repeats it within three months. What choices does the president have?

The president can dismiss the government or reject the first no-confidence vote. After a second vote within three months the president must dismiss the government or dissolve the Duma and call new elections subject to constitutional restrictions.

How is Russia's Federation Council composed and what does it do?

Each federal subject has two representatives with one from its legislative authority and one from its executive authority and the chamber also includes federally appointed senators. It reviews Duma legislation and approves certain armed-forces decisions and boundary changes.

Describe the path of a bill through Russia's legislature.

The State Duma debates and passes a proposed law generally by majority vote and the Federation Council reviews it or it may be deemed approved under constitutional rules. The president signs or vetoes the bill and a two-thirds vote in both chambers can override an ordinary veto.

Explain the gap between Russia's legislature's formal powers and actual political influence.

Formally the Duma passes laws and approves the prime minister while the legislature oversees the executive and the Federation Council represents regions. In political practice pro-presidential parties dominate lawmaking and presidential influence constrains oversight and regional independence.

How is China's National People's Congress structured and selected?

China's NPC is a unicameral legislature of approximately 3000 deputies serving five-year terms. Deputies are selected indirectly through lower-level people's congresses and electoral units and the full NPC generally meets once a year.

What powers does China's constitution formally assign to the NPC?

The NPC is designated the highest organ of state power and can pass laws amend the constitution elect the president and approve the premier's appointment. It also approves national budgets and economic plans and formally supervises state institutions.

What is the NPC Standing Committee and why is it important?

The Standing Committee is a smaller permanent body selected from NPC deputies and is not a second legislative chamber. It handles legislative business between annual NPC sessions and can pass or amend laws interpret laws and the constitution and supervise government institutions.

Explain why China's NPC's formal authority does not equal its actual political influence.

The NPC has broad constitutional authority but the Chinese Communist Party exercises ultimate political authority and determines major policy priorities. The slides describe the NPC as a rubber-stamp body that approves legislation drafted and submitted by the Standing Committee.

Compare China's NPC with Russia's Federal Assembly.

China has a unicameral NPC with indirectly selected deputies while Russia has a bicameral Federal Assembly and mixed elections for the State Duma. Legislative oversight is limited by CCP leadership in China and by presidential dominance in Russia.

Describe Iran's Majles and its electoral arrangement.

The Majles is a unicameral legislature with 290 directly elected members serving four-year terms. Its elections use single-member and multi-member districts with a 25 percent threshold and five seats are reserved for specified religious minorities.

What powers does Iran's Majles have and what limits its independence?

The Majles proposes debates and passes legislation approves the national budget and approves ministers nominated by the president. It can question and impeach ministers and vote no confidence in the cabinet but laws must be reviewed by the Guardian Council and candidates must be approved before election.

What is the Guardian Council and how is it composed?

The Guardian Council has 12 members serving six-year terms and reviews legislation and screens candidates. Six Islamic jurists are appointed by the Supreme Leader while six legal experts are nominated by the judiciary chief and elected by the Majles.

How does Iran's Guardian Council constrain legislation and elections?

It reviews every Majles bill for consistency with the constitution and Islamic law and can reject a bill and return it for revision. It also screens candidates for president the Majles and the Assembly of Experts which limits who can compete in elections.

What is the role of Iran's Expediency Council?

The Expediency Council resolves certain legislative disputes between the Majles and the Guardian Council and advises the Supreme Leader on policy. Its members are appointed by the Supreme Leader alongside designated officials.

Describe the Supreme Leader's influence over Iran's legislative institutions.

The Supreme Leader appoints the six clerical members of the Guardian Council and appoints the Expediency Council. The Supreme Leader also mediates Majles–Guardian Council conflicts and controls major national policy and security decisions.

Explain the gap between Iran's Majles's formal powers and its actual influence.

Formally citizens elect Majles representatives and the Majles passes legislation while the Assembly of Experts selects and can remove the Supreme Leader. In practice the Guardian Council screens candidates and can block laws while institutions connected to the Supreme Leader exercise substantial influence.