Editing Indirect election (section)

== Heads of state ==
A head of state is the official leader and representative of a country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Head of state |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/head-of-state |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=Cambridge Dictionary}}</ref> The head of state position can vary from ceremonial [[figurehead]] with limited power to powerful leader depending on the government structure and historical legacy of the country.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Strohmeier |first1=Gerd |last2=Wittlinger |first2=Ruth |date=2010-03-01 |title=Parliamentary Heads of State: Players or Figureheads? The Case of Horst Köhler |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01402380903538856 |journal=West European Politics |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=237–257 |doi=10.1080/01402380903538856 |s2cid=154522953 |issn=0140-2382|url-access=subscription }}</ref> For instance, in some cases heads of state inherit the position through a [[monarchy]] whereas others are indirectly or directly elected such as presidents.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Prindle |first=David F. |date=1991 |title=Head of State and Head of Government in Comparative Perspective |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27550663 |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=55–71 |jstor=27550663 |issn=0360-4918}}</ref> Several examples are included below.

=== United States ===
The [[President of the United States]] is elected indirectly. In a [[United States presidential election|US presidential election]], eligible members of the public vote for the [[Article Two of the United States Constitution|electors]] of an [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]], who have previously pledged publicly to support a particular presidential candidate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ross |first=Robert |date=2016 |title=Federalism and the Electoral College: The Development of the General Ticket Method for Selecting Presidential Electors |url=https://academic.oup.com/publius/article-abstract/46/2/147/2494081 |journal=Publius: The Journal of Federalism |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=147–169|doi=10.1093/publius/pjv043 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> When the Electoral College sits, soon after the election, it formally elects the candidate that has won a majority of the members of the Electoral College. Members of the federal cabinet, including the vice president, are in practice nominated by the president, and are thus elected indirectly.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Uscinski |first=Joseph |date=January 2012 |title=Smith (and Jones) Go to Washington: Democracy and Vice-Presidential Selection |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ps-political-science-and-politics/article/abs/smith-and-jones-go-to-washington-democracy-and-vicepresidential-selection/197A1E7EB858D9F70F2B56E469FC40D9 |journal=PS: Political Science & Politics |language=en |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=58–66 |doi=10.1017/S1049096511001715 |s2cid=155697464 |issn=1537-5935|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Electoral College is a controversial issue in U.S. politics, especially following presidential elections when voting is polarized geographically in such a way that the electoral college [[List of United States presidential elections in which the winner lost the popular vote|elects a candidate who did not win an absolute majority of the popular vote]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Waller |first=Allyson |date=2021-01-05 |title=The Electoral College Explained |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/the-electoral-college.html |access-date=2023-04-10 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The [[National Popular Vote Interstate Compact]], if enacted, would effectively replace the indirect election via the Electoral College with a ''de facto'' [[Plurality voting|plurality]]-based direct election.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The National Popular Vote, Explained |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/national-popular-vote-explained |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=www.brennancenter.org |date=21 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

=== China ===
The [[Constitution of the People's Republic of China]] specifies a system of indirect democracy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=中国人大网 |url=http://www.npc.gov.cn/ |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=www.npc.gov.cn}}</ref> The [[National People's Congress]] elects the [[President of the People's Republic of China|president]], also known as the state chairman, who serves as [[List of state representatives of the People's Republic of China|state representative]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Path to 'True' Indirect Democracy in China |url=https://thediplomat.com/2017/07/a-path-to-true-indirect-democracy-in-china/ |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The power of the presidency is largely ceremonial and has no real power in China's [[Politics of China|political system]], the vast majority of power stems from the president's position as [[General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party]] and [[Supreme command of the armed forces in the People's Republic of China|commander-in-chief]] of the [[Central Military Commission (China)|military]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ruwitch |first=John |date=March 10, 2023 |title=China's Xi Jinping, as expected, gets 5 more years as state president |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/03/10/1162128750/chinas-xi-jinping-5-more-years-as-president |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=NPR.org}}</ref>

=== European Union ===
The president of the [[European Commission]] is nominated by the [[European Council]] and confirmed or denied by the directly elected [[European Parliament]] (see [[Elections to the European Parliament#Commission President|Elections to the European Parliament]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elections and appointments - institutions {{!}} European Union |url=https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/leadership/elections-and-appointments_en |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=european-union.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref>

=== Parliamentary systems ===
Republics with [[parliamentary system]]s usually elect their [[head of state]] indirectly (e.g. [[President of Germany|Germany]], [[President of Italy|Italy]], [[President of Estonia|Estonia]], [[President of Latvia|Latvia]], [[President of Malta|Malta]], [[President of Hungary|Hungary]], [[President of India|India]], [[President of Israel|Israel]], [[President of Bangladesh|Bangladesh]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sargentich |first=Thomas O. |date=1993 |title=The Presidential and Parliamentary Models of National Government |url=https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/auilr/vol8/iss2/19/ |journal=American University International Law Review |volume=8 |issue=2/3 |pages=579–592}}</ref> Several parliamentary republics, such as [[President of Ireland|Ireland]], [[President of Austria|Austria]], [[President of Croatia|Croatia]], [[President of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] and the [[President of Czechia|Czech Republic]], operate using a semi-presidential system with a directly elected president distinct from the prime minister.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-04 |title=Parliamentary System |url=https://www.annenbergclassroom.org/glossary_term/parliamentary-system/ |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Annenberg Classroom |language=en-US}}</ref>