system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: Regularly scheduled elections are superior to elections scheduled by the government.

When I read news of democracies or republics other than my own, one thing confounds me more than any other: the government "calling elections." Why?? I of course don't encounter supporters of this system so I don't know the arguments in favor of it, which is why I'm here.

As I understand it, in parliamentary systems, there is usually a limit on how long can go between elections but the party or coalitions controlling parliament (and therefore the prime ministership) can call an election before that. Of course all countries are different but if this is generally wrong please correct me. 

I can't see this as anything other than a way for the party or parties in power to stay in power and for the government to evade accountability. Yes, sometimes the winds are shifting and there is nothing they can do--but otherwise, when they sense that the political climate is as good as it will be for a while, they can just call an election, win, and reset the clock. If they want to do something they know will be unpopular, they can call the election, win, and then do it and give it time to blow over.

Even if this system isn't currently being abused, the potential for abuse is still a problem. It's better to make sure the government can't do bad things than to just hope they won't. For example, picking a benevolent ruler and making them dictator is still a terrible idea, and while these are obviously different the principle is the same.

My country has had an election once every two years for over two hundred years. I don't see the downside of this system, and of course it doesn't have the problems I just described. It can be done, and we have managed to do so without great difficulty despite various crises. 

CMV.
gpt
It's true that a government might call an election early if they're very popular. We don't really consider that abusing the system though, if a government is popular enough that they can confidently call an election early then it's probably good for them to stay in power longer.

And on the flip side, if there's a political crisis and the government loses majority support in the Parliament or fails to pass the budget, they call a new election to replace them.