Hung Parliament

In a parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament is an expression used to describe a state of a parliament when no single political party (or bloc of allied parties) has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament (legislature). It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control. If the legislature is bicameral, and the government is responsible only to the lower house, then "hung parliament" is used only with respect to that chamber. It is the objective of parliamentary systems for the parliament to be able to form a stable government, preferably that lasts until the next election. This requires the government to be able to muster up sufficient votes in parliament to pass important legislation, especially to be able to pass the government's budget. It also needs sufficient votes to defeat votes of no-confidence in the government. If the state of the parliament is such that a majority government cannot be formed, the government may be referred to as a "minority government". The term hung parliament is used mainly in systems with two parties or two party blocs. Most general elections in such a system will result in one or other party having an absolute majority and thus quickly forming a new government; a "hung parliament" is an exception to this pattern, and may be considered anomalous or undesirable. One or both main parties may seek to form a coalition government with smaller third parties, or a minority government relying on confidence and supply support from third parties or independents. If these efforts fail, a dissolution of parliament and a fresh election may be the last resort.

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