Hung parliament

A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures, typically ones using majoritarian electoral systems (such as block voting or first-past-the-post), to describe a situation in which no single , faction, alliance, or other form of pre-existing coalition 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, or as a legislature under no overall control (NOC), and can result in a minority government. In a legislative body not referred to as a parliament, or ones in a system using what is closer to presidential system, this may be called a hung legislature, hung senate, hung congress, hung council, or whatever the relevant term is for the given legislature. In certain contexts, it might be called divided government; however in many systems, especially presidential ones or ones with bicameral legislatures, this might refer to an entirely different concept.

In politically diverse systems, particularly where proportional representation is employed, it is rare for a single party or faction to hold a majority of the seats, and likewise rare for one group to form government on its own (i.e. coalitions are the norm for governments to operate). Consequently, the concept of a “hung parliament” is largely irrelevant in these systems, as a legislature without an absolute majority of a singular faction is the norm.

In a parliamentary 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 faction 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.

The term of hung parliament could still be broadly used in a nonpartisan setting, often in the sense of regional representation based on towns or broad ideological differences in the legislature in the case that the legislature is immensely divided on specific issues. On EarthMC, a large amount of legislatures are advisory in manner, so the term may not be used due to the fact of the simple lack of importance of the legislature when it comes to forming or dictating the program of the government. Additionally, many legislatures are not actively elected and are instead are a permanently changing body, such as the Philippine Senate or the Australian Parliament; compared to larger, diverse, and directly elected legislatures where the term might be more readily applicable, such as the Cascadia House of Representatives.