Semi-parliamentary system

Semi-parliamentary system is a system of government in which the legislature is split into two parts that are both directly elected – one that has the power to select and remove the members of the executive by a vote of no confidence and another that does not. It is used is Australia on the federal and state level, as well as Japan on a national level. This variant of parliamentarism was identified and theoretically rationalised by German academic Steffen Ganghof. The Australian variant has also been called the "Washminster system" alluding to how it combines the strong bicameralism and separation of powers of the US presidential (congressional) system with the principle of parliamentary confidence from the lower house of the Westminster system.

The term "semi-parlamentary" was also previously used by Maurice Duverger to describe a prime-ministerial system, in which voters vote separately for both members of legislature and the prime minister, a system Israel used from 1996 to 2001..