Presidential veto power varies by country, with reasons for vetoing including unconstitutionality, opposition to the president’s beliefs, and being against the public good. There are two types of presidents: leaders and caretakers. There are four types of presidential veto, with the strongest being the direct veto. The ability to override a presidential veto is a constitutional safeguard.
A presidential veto is the ability of a head of state, typically the president of a republic, to overrule or disrupt a piece of legislation. There are several reasons for vetoing legislation: unconstitutionality, being against the president’s beliefs, and to be against the public good. The president’s powers and the types of veto he can exercise vary from country to country. This ranges from sending legislation for review to permanently deleting it.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of president: the leader and the caretaker. Leading presidents such as those of France, Mexico, Brazil and the United States are elected to create policies and laws and work in tandem with elected legislatures. Other republics elect or choose presidents to act as caretakers; their job is to pass or veto legislation, act as figureheads, and approve political appointments. Other democracies give veto power to the reigning monarch or a governor-general, but these vetoes are almost never used as they could result in a constitutional crisis.
There are four main types of presidential veto. The weakest of the four is the review power. Countries like India, France, Portugal and Italy allow the president to protest a piece of legislation by sending it back to the elected body for review. If the legislature postpones the legislation a second time, the president cannot reject it.
Countries such as the Republic of Ireland, Poland and Hungary can veto the constitutional review. If the president believes the newly passed legislation is unconstitutional, he can send it to a constitutional court for review. If the court approves the legislation, then it must be approved. Poland and Hungary, however, are able to send it back to parliament for review before being forced to accept it.
Latvia, Iceland and Austria have a stronger form of presidential veto. The president of Iceland and Austria can reject the legislation and ask for a direct referendum on it. This plebiscite allows people to have a direct veto if they wish. The Latvian president can ask for signatures for a referendum. The legislation is then stalled for two months while he or she tries to get enough signatures for a public vote, and if the president fails, then the legislation must pass.
The strongest type of presidential veto is the direct veto. The presidents of America and Singapore, for example, have this veto style. Singapore’s president can veto appointments to ensure that the civil service remains apolitical. He is also allowed to block legislation that is thought to be spending money recklessly. Singapore’s president cannot veto defense and security laws.
Once an act of Congress is passed in America, the president has 10 days to sign it. If the president does not sign, the bill automatically passes, unless the president returns it with a reason for his refusal. An example of a presidential veto in the United States is the 2006 veto of a stem cell research bill by then-President George W. Bush.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 635 vetoes are the most of any president in America, even though this corresponds to only 2% of all bills sent to him. Andrew Johnson vetoes the highest percentage of bills at 75%, but 50% of them have been overruled by Congress. Seven presidents, including John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, have never exercised a veto.
The ability to override a presidential veto is a constitutional safeguard that protects the people and the legislature from a president’s abuse of power. Many European republics override the veto by passing the same bill a second time. In America, if a bill goes on a second ballot and passes with a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the president has no power to block it. Replacements are more likely to occur when a political party other than the president controls legislatures.
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