Hung parliament

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A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legislators (commonly known as members or seats) in a parliament or other legislature. This situation is also known as a balanced parliament,^[1][2] or as a legislature under no overall control (NOC),^[3][4][5] and can result in a minority government.

In multi-party systems, particularly where proportional representation is employed, it is rare for a single party to hold a majority of the seats, and likewise rare for one party to form government on its own (i.e. coalition government is the norm). Consequently, the concept of a "hung parliament" is largely irrelevant in these systems, as a legislature without a single-party majority is the norm.

In the Westminster system, in the absence of a clear majority, no party or coalition has an automatic mandate to assume control of the executive – a status usually known in parliamentary systems as "forming (a) government". It is possible that an absolute majority may still be gained through the formation of a new coalition government, or the addition of previously unaffiliated members to a pre-existing coalition. Additionally, a minority government may instead result – that is, the party that has the most members is allowed to form government without an absolute majority, provided that it has the express, ongoing support of unaffiliated members, such as minor parties and/or independent legislators.