An indirect election or hierarchical voting, is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office, but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. This electoral system is one of the oldest forms of elections and is used by many countries for heads of state (such as presidents), heads of government (such as prime ministers), and/or upper houses. It is also used for some supranational legislatures. The body that controls the federal executive branch (such as a cabinet) is in many countries elected indirectly by the head of government with exception of the directorial system. Upper houses, especially in federal republics, are often indirectly elected, either by the corresponding lower house or cabinet.

Positions that are indirectly elected may be chosen by a permanent body (such as a parliament) or by a special body convened solely for that purpose (such as an electoral college). An election can be partially indirect, for example in the case of indirect single transferable voting, where only eliminated candidates select other candidates to transfer their vote share to. Similarly, supranational legislatures can be indirectly elected by constituent countries' legislatures or executive governments.

A head of state is the official leader and representative of a country. 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. For instance, in some cases heads of state inherit the position through a monarchy whereas others are indirectly or directly elected such as presidents. Several examples are included below.

The President of the United States is elected indirectly. In a US presidential election, eligible members of the public vote for the electors of an Electoral College, who have previously pledged publicly to support a particular presidential candidate. 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. 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 elects a candidate who did not win an absolute majority of the popular vote. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, if enacted, would effectively replace the indirect election via the Electoral College with a de facto plurality-based direct election.

The Constitution of the People's Republic of China specifies a system of indirect democracy. The National People's Congress elects the president, also known as the state chairman, who serves as state representative. The power of the presidency is largely ceremonial and has no real power in China's political system, the vast majority of power stems from the president's position as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and commander-in-chief of the military.

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).

Republics with parliamentary systems usually elect their head of state indirectly (e.g. Germany, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Malta, Hungary, India, Israel, Bangladesh). Several parliamentary republics, such as Ireland, Austria, Croatia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, operate using a semi-presidential system with a directly elected president distinct from the prime minister.

A head of government is in charge of the daily business of government and overseeing central government institutions. In presidential systems the president is the head of government and head of state. In parliamentary systems the head of government is usually the leader of the party with the most seats in the legislature. Several examples of heads of government who are chosen through indirect elections are summarized below.