Editing Westminster system (section)

==Bicameral and unicameral parliaments==
[[File:Canadian Parliament at night.jpg|thumb|Canadian Parliament at night]]
[[File:Glimpses of the new Parliament Building, in New Delhi (2).jpg|thumb|right|The [[Parliament House (India)|Sansad Bhavan]] (Parliament House) building in [[New Delhi, India]]]] 
[[File:Knesset Building (South Side).JPG|thumb|right|[[Knesset|Knesset Building]], [[Jerusalem]]]]

In a Westminster system, some members of parliament are elected by popular vote, while others are appointed. Nearly all Westminster-based parliaments have a [[lower house]] with powers based on those of the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] (under various names), comprising local, elected representatives of the people (with [[Knesset|the only exception]] being elected entirely by nationwide Proportional Representation). Most also have a smaller upper house, which is made up of members chosen by various methods:
* Termless appointees, either lifetime or retiring, from successive prime ministers (such as the [[Senate of Canada]])
* Appointees of the premier and the opposition leader (such as the [[Jamaican Senate]])
* Direct election (such as the [[Australian Senate]])
* Election by electoral colleges or sub-national legislatures (such as the Indian [[Rajya Sabha]])
* Hereditary nobility (such as the British [[House of Lords]] until the [[House of Lords Act 1999]])
* Any combination of the above (such as the Malaysian [[Dewan Negara|Senate]])

* A prime minister can be elected without gaining a majority of the popular vote.

In the UK, the lower house is the {{Lang|la|de facto}} legislative body, while the upper house practices restraint in exercising its constitutional powers and serves as a consultative body. In other Westminster countries, however, the upper house can sometimes exercise considerable power, as is the case for the Australian Senate.

Some Westminster-derived parliaments are [[unicameral]] for two reasons:

* The [[New Zealand Parliament]], [[Parliament of Queensland]], and the parliaments of the Canadian provinces of [[Legislative Council of Manitoba|Manitoba]], [[New Brunswick Legislative Council|New Brunswick]], [[Legislative Council of Nova Scotia|Nova Scotia]], [[Legislative Council of Prince Edward Island|Prince Edward Island]], and [[Québec|Quebec]] have abolished their upper houses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/sitecore/content/Home/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/hamer/chap02|title=Chapter 2: The development of the Westminster system|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=Parliament of Australia |language=en-AU|access-date=22 August 2017}}</ref>
* The parliaments of all other Canadian provinces, the [[Parliament of Malta]], the [[National Parliament of Papua New Guinea|Papua New Guinea Parliament]], the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong]] and the [[Knesset|Israeli Parliament]] never had upper houses.

[[Hong Kong]], a former British [[crown colony]] and currently a [[Special administrative regions of China|special administrative region]] of the [[China|People's Republic of China]], has a unicameral [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong|Legislative Council]]. While the Legislative Councils in British Australasian and North American colonies were unelected upper houses and some of them had since abolished themselves, the Legislative Council of Hong Kong has remained the sole chamber and had in 1995 evolved into a fully elected house, yet only part of the seats are returned by universal suffrage. Responsible government was never granted during British colonial rule, and the [[Governor of Hong Kong|Governor]] remained the [[head of government]] until the transfer of sovereignty in 1997, when the role was replaced by the [[Chief Executive (Hong Kong)|Chief Executive]]. Secretaries had remained to be chosen by the Chief Executive not from the Legislative Council, and their appointments need not be approved by the Legislative Council. Although essentially more presidential than parliamentary, the Legislative Council had inherited many elements of the Westminster system, including parliamentary powers, privileges and immunity, and the right to conduct inquiries, amongst others. Minutes are known as Hansards, and the theme colour of the meeting chamber is red as in other upper houses. Government secretaries and other officials are seated on the right hand side of the [[President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong|President]] in the chamber. The Chief Executive may dissolve the Legislative Council under certain conditions, and is obliged to resign, e.g., when a re-elected Legislative Council passes again a bill that he or she had refused to sign.