Following are the merits of Presidential form of government:

i. It ensures stable government: In a Presidential form of government, the government becomes stable, because the President is elected for a fixed tenure and he cannot be removed from his office through a vote of no-confidence. He can be removed from his office through the process of impeachment, in case he violates the constitution.

ii. This system of government is most suitable for emergencies: In a Presidential from of government, real powers of the government are in the hands of the president. During war and emergency, after consulting his secretaries, he can take a number of decisions independently.

iii. It leads to the efficiency in administration: Since the Presidents appoint their secretaries on the basis of ability and not on political basis, they are responsible to the President and not to the parliament. Thus, they pay full attention to the administration, which creates efficiency in the administration.

iv. Less influence of Parties: As compared to the Parliamentary government there is less influence of parties in this system. The reason for this is that the entire administration is in the hands of the President, who, after having been elected, does not depend upon the majority support in the Parliament.

Demerits of Presidential Government:

i. In this system of Government the President enjoys wide powers and he can have his own way in many matters: In a Presidential Government, many executive, financial and legal powers are concentrated in the hands of the President and he can use his discretion in many matters. In America, the Congress has no control over the daily administration.

ii. It leads to non-co-operation between the Executive and the Legislature: In a Presidential Government, there is sometimes non-co-operation between the Executive and the Legislature and a great difficulty is faced by the President in obtaining the approval for the foreign aid programme.

iii. In this system the government is not responsible for daily administration to the Parliament: Another drawback of the Presidential government is that the people or the Parliament have no control over the daily administration and the policy. The President and his secretaries are not asked to answer questions in the Parliament. They can also not be removed from the office by a vote of no- confidence against them. Thus, the President and his secretaries run the administration arbitrarily. There is no such provision in a parliamentary government.

iv. The Theory of Separation of Powers is not good for the sound working of the Government: Because of the separation of powers, there is no co-ordination between the executive and the legislature. This destroys the unity of the government. In a parliamentary government the ministers can satisfy the Parliament regarding bills and budget, because they are present there and answer the questions themselves. In a Presidential government, the President and his secretaries do not attend the Parliament. Thus, in America the President faces a great difficulty in getting the budget and bills passed according to his own wishes.