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—for local government in the United Kingdom—a parliament under no overall control (NOC).^[3][4][5] A hung parliament may result in a coalition government, a minority government, or a snap election if a government cannot be formed.

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 term is generally unused in these systems, as a legislature without a single-party majority is the norm and thus every parliament is "hung".

In the Westminster system, in the absence of a clear majority, no party or coalition has an automatic constitutional entitlement to form government. This can result in the formation of a coalition government of parties which can together command a majority, or the formation of a minority government, where the ruling party receives confidence and supply from smaller parties or independent legislators. If none of these solutions prove workable, the head of state may dissolve parliament (typically on the advice of the head of government), triggering a snap election.

In Canada, the term is generally not used, as it is typical for the party that wins a plurality (but not a majority) of seats to form a minority government on its own. These situations are typically called a "minority government" or "minority parliament" by the Canadian media. The ruling party then seeks to work with other parties on a case-by-case basis.