In parliamentary systems like the United Kingdom and Australia, voters elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent their interests in Westminster. Those MPs belong to political parties which share a common approach to governing and pursue shared goals based on this common vision through policies. Parties seek political power to be able to implement these policies.
Under the Westminster system, if the government loses a vote of confidence in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister must either resign or request the dissolution of Parliament and call a new election. This is known as the confidence convention. The convention is intended to prevent periods of legislative gridlock as a result of the polarization of the country between opposing political elites and to promote the principle of democratic renewal.
The Westminster system is also used by some other countries that were influenced by the British political tradition, including Ireland and New Zealand. These parliamentary systems may use plurality voting, proportional representation or instant-runoff voting to select their representatives. They may be governed by single- or multimember constituencies and can include mixed electoral systems such as the one that was introduced in West Germany after World War II.
The President of Albania nominates the leader of the party or coalition that holds a majority in Parliament as Prime Minister who then forms a Cabinet which must be approved by the Parliament. In the Czech Republic and Croatia, the President of the Republic nominates the candidate chosen by the dominant member party or coalition in the Chamber of Deputies as the Prime Minister who then forms a Cabinet that must be approved by Parliament.