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
Overview
A normal objective of
The term "hung parliament" is most often used of parliaments dominated by two major parties or coalitions. General elections in such systems usually result in one party having an absolute majority and thus quickly forming a new government. In most parliamentary systems, a hung parliament is considered exceptional and is often seen as undesirable. In other contexts, a hung parliament may be seen as ideal – for example, if opinions among the voting public are polarised regarding one or more issues, a hung parliament may lead to the emergence of a compromise or consensus.
If a legislature is bicameral, the term "hung parliament" is usually used only with respect to the lower house.
In a multi-party system with legislators elected by proportional representation or a similar systems, it is usually exceptionally rare and difficult for any party to have an absolute majority. Under such situations, hung parliaments are often taken for granted and coalition governments are normal. However, the term may be used to describe an election in which no established coalition wins an outright majority (such as the German federal election of 2005 or the 2018 Italian general election).
History
The term apparently emerged in the United Kingdom, around the time of the 1974 election, by analogy with a
Australia
Australian parliaments are modelled on the Westminster system, with a hung parliament typically defined as a lack of a lower house parliamentary majority from either the Australian Labor Party or Liberal/National Coalition.
Hung parliaments are rare at the federal level in Australia, as a de facto two-party system, in which the Australian Labor Party competes against a permanent Liberal-National Coalition of the conservative parties, has existed with only brief interruptions since the early 20th century. Prior to 1910, no party had had a majority in the House of Representatives. As a result, there were frequent changes of government, several of which took place during parliamentary terms. Since 1910, when the two-party system was cemented, there have been two hung parliaments, the first in 1940, and the second in 2010. At the 1940 federal election, incumbent Prime Minister Robert Menzies secured the support of the two crossbenchers and continued to govern, but in 1941 the independents switched their support to Labor, bringing John Curtin to power.
Declining support for the major parties in recent times is leading to more non-majoritarian outcomes at elections.[6] At the 2010 federal election, which resulted in an exact 72–72 seat tie between Labor and the Liberal-National Coalition, incumbent Prime Minister Julia Gillard secured the support of four out of six Independent and Green Party crossbenchers and continued to govern until 2013.
In the 2016 federal election a hung parliament was only narrowly averted with the Liberal-National Coalition winning 76 seats, the bare minimum required to form a majority government. The Liberal-National Coalition government lost its majority government status after a by-election in 2018, but regained its majority in 2019.
Hung parliaments are rather more common at a state level. The
Canada
Hung parliaments at either the federal and provincial level are an infrequent but not unusual occurrence in Canada. The term 'Hung parliament' is not commonly used in Canada.
While most Canadian minority governments end in dissolution via non-confidence or a snap election call, there have been recent attempts to transition to a new government without returning to the ballot box. Most notably, the
At the territorial level, a unique situation happened in the 2021 Yukon general election, in which the electoral district of Vuntut Gwitchin resulted in a tie. A judicial recount was held and the tie remained. A draw was held between the two candidates which ultimately named NDP challenger Annie Blake the winner against incumbent Liberal cabinet minister and MLA Pauline Frost. This victory ultimately resulted in a hung parliament in the Yukon legislature with the NDP holding the balance of power.
Fiji
The 2022 Fijian general election resulted in a hung parliament, with no party gaining a majority of seats. Although the FijiFirst party, led by then-Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, won the most seats, the three other parties that won seats (the People's Alliance, the National Federation Party and the Social Democratic Liberal Party) formed a coalition and Sitiveni Rabuka, leader of the People's Alliance, became the subsequent Prime Minister, ending 16 years of Bainimarama's rule.
France
Since the establishment of the two-round system for parliamentary elections in 1958, hung parliaments are unusual under the Fifth Republic. Still, 2 general elections out of 16 resulted in such a parliamentary configuration since 1958:
- National Assembly and called for a snap legislative election on the 5 and 12 June 1988 to regain the majority he lost to a centre-right to right-wing coalition in 1986. The snap election resulted in France's first hung parliament since the fall of the Fourth Republic in 1958, with Mitterrand's PS as the largest party (275 seats) but 14 short of an overall majority. The Communists and the independent Centrists ended up as potential kingmakersin the newly elected Assembly.
- NUPES and the far-right RN achieved significant gains, the centre-right to right-wing Republicans were left holding the balance of powerin this hung parliament, despite suffering seizable losses.
India
India is a federative multi-party parliamentary democracy with lower and upper houses at both national and sub-national levels.[9]
However, despite having a multi-party system in place, it has witnessed a clear majority parliament for 45 years against its transition to democratic republic being 70 years old.[10][11][12]
It has 8 recognized national parties with influence over major parts of India and regional parties with bases in certain states.[13][14]
From 1989 to 2014, India had a continuous period of parliaments producing
Hung assemblies within states and alliances between national and regional parties at sub-national level are common.
Ireland
Because Ireland uses PR-STV, it is rare for any one party to have a majority on its own. The last such occasion was in 1977. However, one or other coalitions are known to be possible before and during the election. Therefore, a "hung Dáil" (Dáil Éireann being the lower and most dominant chamber of the Oireachtas/Parliament) in Ireland refers more to the inability of a coalition of parties who traditionally enter government together or would be expected to govern together, from doing so.
The President has no direct role in the formation of governments in the case of a hung parliament. However, he retains the power to convene a meeting of either or both the Dáil and Senate which could become important if there was a government trying to use parliamentary recess to prevent confidence votes and hold onto power. The President may also refuse to dissolve Dáil Eireann and call an election if the Taoiseach loses a vote of confidence, instead giving the other parties a chance to see if they can put together a government without proceeding to another election.
In 2016, Fine Gael and Labour, who had been in government the previous five years, were unable, due to Labour's collapse, to enter government again. Fianna Fáil had enough seats to put together a rainbow government with the other centre-left, hard left parties and independents but negotiations broke down. Fianna Fáil had also promised not to enter coalition with Sinn Féin.
The press began to speculate about a Germany style "Grand Coalition" similar to the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats there. Many members of FF considered FG too right wing to enter coalition with and threatened to leave the party this came to pass. As talks continued on without a new government (the old government, constitutionally, which had just been voted out, remaining in power including ministers who had lost their seats) FF agreed to allow a government to form by abstention. The parliamentary arithmetic fell in such a way that if FF TD's abstained on confidence and supply matters, a FG minority government could, with the support of a group of independents, form a new government. This was agreed in exchange for a number of policy concessions. Once the deal with FF was signed, Taoiseach Enda Kenny conducted talks with the independents and entered government for a second term.
Israel
All parliamentary elections in Israel have resulted in hung parliaments. The Knesset consists of 120 members and the highest number of seats a single faction has ever received was the 56 members Alignment (Ma'arach) got in the October 1969 elections. When the same faction was formed in January 1969 it consisted of 63 members, the only instance to date of a faction with an absolute majority in the Knesset. The lowest number of seats the largest faction has ever received in a Knesset election was 26 members received by One Israel in the 1999 Israeli general election.
Malaysia
The
New Zealand
Hung parliaments were relatively uncommon in New Zealand prior to the introduction of proportional representation in 1993. On only four occasions since the beginnings of party politics in 1890 had a hung parliament occurred under the first-past-the-post system: in 1911, 1922, 1928 and 1931. The rarity between 1936 and 1996 was due to the regression into a two-party system, alternating between the long dominating New Zealand Labour Party and New Zealand National Party.[19] From the first MMP election in 1996 until the 2020 election no single party gained an outright majority in parliament. The 2020 election was the first to return a majority – a narrow majority for the Labour Party – since 1993.[20]
United Kingdom
In the
Both the election of January 1910, and that of December 1910 produced a hung parliament with an almost identical number of seats won by the governing Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. This was due both to the constitutional crisis and to the rise of the Labour Party. The elections of 1929 resulted in the last hung parliament for many years; in the meantime, Labour had replaced the Liberals as one of the two dominating parties.
Since the elections of 1929, three general elections have resulted in hung parliaments in the UK. The first was the election in February 1974, and the ensuing parliament lasted only until October. The second was the May 2010 election, the result of which was a hung parliament with the Conservative party as the largest single party. The results for the 3 main parties were: Conservatives 306, Labour 258, Liberal Democrats 57.[21] The third one resulted from the snap election held in June 2017 that had been called for by Theresa May in order to strengthen her majority heading into Brexit negotiations later in 2017. However, this election backfired on May and her Conservative Party, resulting in a hung parliament after the snap election.[22]
The formation of the coalition resulting from the 2010 election led to the
Hung parliaments can also arise when slim government majorities are eroded by by-election defeats and defection of Members of Parliament to opposition parties, as well as resignations of MPs from the House of Commons. This happened in December 1996 to the Conservative government of John Major (1990–97) and in mid-1978 to the Labour government of James Callaghan (1976–79); this latter period covers the era known as the Winter of Discontent. The minority government of Jim Callaghan came when Labour ended their 15-month Lib–Lab pact with the Liberals, having lost their majority in early 1977.
According to researchers Andrew Blick and Stuart Wilks-Heeg, the phrase "hung parliament" did not enter into common usage in the UK until the mid-1970s. It was first used in the press by journalist Simon Hoggart in The Guardian in 1974.[23]
Academic treatments of hung parliaments include
Consequences
In countries used to decisive election outcomes, a hung parliament is often viewed as an unfavourable outcome, leading to relatively weak and unstable government. A period of uncertainty after the election is common, as major party leaders negotiate with independents and minor parties to establish a working majority.
An aspiring head of government may seek to build a coalition government; in Westminster systems, this typically involves agreement on a joint legislative programme and a number of ministerial posts going to the minor coalition partners, in return for a stable majority. Alternatively, a minority government may be formed, establishing confidence and supply agreements in return for policy concessions agreed in advance, or relying on case by case support.
Australia
In the
In the 1999 Victorian state election, the Labor Party won 42 seats, while the incumbent Liberal National Coalition retained 43, with 3 seats falling to independents. The Labor Party formed a minority government with the 3 independents.
The 2010 Tasmanian state election resulted in a hung parliament. After a period of negotiation, the incumbent Labor government led by David Bartlett was recommissioned, but containing the Leader of the Tasmanian Greens, Nick McKim, as a minister, and the Greens' Cassy O'Connor as Cabinet Secretary.
In the 2010 federal election, neither Labor nor the Liberal coalition secured the majority of seats required to form a Government in their own right. In order to counter the potential instability of minority government involved groups may negotiate written agreements defining their terms of support. Such measures were undertaken by the Gillard Government in 2010.[24]
France
In the
In the
India
In
New Zealand
The first such occasion was in
In 1928, Reform were ousted from governance and Joseph Ward once again won back power. However, the Reform and United (Liberal) parties were tied on seats with Labour holding the balance of power. Labour chose to back Ward rather than let Reform leader Gordon Coates remain in office. In the next election in 1931, there was again a three-way deadlock. On this occasion the Reform and United parties became a coalition government out of mutual fear of Labour's ever-increasing appeal as the Great Depression worsened.
1993 was the last time a hung parliament occurred in New Zealand. Governor-General Dame Catherine Tizard asked Sir David Beattie to form a committee, along with three retired appeal court judges, to decide whom to appoint as Prime Minister. [25] However, National won an extra seat after special votes were counted, giving National 50 seats and Labour 45 seats (4 were won by third-party candidates). Labour's Sir Peter Tapsell agreed to become Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. As a result, National did not lose a vote in the house and maintained a dubious majority for three years.
United Kingdom
In the February 1974 general election, no party gained an overall parliamentary majority. Labour won the most seats (301, which was 17 seats short of an overall majority) with the Conservatives on 297 seats, although the Conservatives had a larger share of the popular vote. As the incumbent Prime Minister, Edward Heath remained in office attempting to build a coalition with the Liberals. When these negotiations were unsuccessful Heath resigned and Labour led by Harold Wilson took over in a minority government.
In the 2010 UK general election, another hung parliament occurred with the Conservatives as the largest party, and discussions followed to help create a stable government. This resulted in agreement on a coalition government, which was also a majority government, between the Conservative Party, which won the most votes and seats in the election, and the Liberal Democrats.
In the 2017 UK general election, a hung parliament occurred for the second time in seven years with the Conservatives again being the largest party. The Conservatives led by Theresa May formed a minority government, supported by a confidence-and-supply agreement with the Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.
Working majority
There have been occasions when, although a parliament or assembly is technically hung, the party in power has a
United Kingdom
In 2005, this was the case in the 60-seat
When Dafydd Elis-Thomas (Plaid Cymru) was reelected as the presiding officer, this reduced the number of opposition AMs who could vote to 29, as the presiding officer votes only in the event of a tie and, even then, not on party political lines but according to Speaker Denison's rule. Thus, Labour had a working majority of one seat until Law ran in Blaenau Gwent.[26]
See also
Notes
- ^ It was first controlled by a Conservative majority. After a scandal in the Conservative Party, the Liberals took power.
- ^ While the Liberals won a one seat majority in the 1921 Canadian federal election resignations changed the parliament from a small majority to a Hung Parliament.
- ^ Liberals gained majority due to resignations and by-elections.
References
- ^ "Balanced parliament: No need to rush". The Guardian. London. 5 May 2010.
- ^ "SNP puts case for hung parliament". BBC News. 20 April 2010.
- ^ "Q+A – What happens if no party gets a majority in UK election?". Reuters. 7 May 2010.
- ^ Paun, Akash (4 December 2009). "Hung up on 'no overall control'". The Guardian. London.
- ^ "Welcome to the era of no overall control". New Statesman. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ISBN 978-1783081219. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ Minority Governments in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ "GG agrees to suspend Parliament: Harper". CBC. 4 December 2008. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
- ISBN 978-0-7146-8026-2, retrieved 20 July 2011
- ^ "Narasimha Rao Passes Away". The Hindu. 24 December 2004. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2008.
- ^ India, Press Trust of (16 May 2009), "Second UPA Win, A Crowning Glory for Sonia's Ascendancy", Business Standard India, Press Trust of India, retrieved 13 June 2009
- ^ Dunleavy, P.; Diwakar, R.; Dunleavy, C. (2007), The Effective Space of Party Competition (PDF), London School of Economics and Political Science, archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2007, retrieved 27 September 2011
- ^ "List of Political Parties & Symbol MAIN Notification". Election Commission of India. 15 March 2019.
- ^ "Amending notification regarding political parties and their election symbol dated 10.01.2020". Election Commission of India. 15 January 2020.
- ^ "General Election 2014". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ "Hung Parliament in GE15, as both Pakatan and Perikatan in race to form govt". Malay Mail. 20 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Anwar Ibrahim sworn in as Malaysia's 10th Prime Minister". New Straits Times. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ "Parliament session on Dec 19, motion of confidence on PM to be tabled – PM Anwar". Bernama. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ISBN 0-86870-006-1.
- ^ Shaw, Richard (19 October 2020). "Labour's single-party majority is not a failure of MMP, it is a sign NZ's electoral system is working". The Conversation. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ "General election 2010 results of a hung parliament" Archived 10 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine, PoliticsRAW. May 08, 2010
- ^ "Election results 2017: UK wakes up to hung Parliament". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ Blick, Andrew; Stuart Wilks-Heeg (April 2010). "Governing without majorities: Coming to terms with balanced Parliaments in UK politics" (PDF). Liverpool: Democratic Audit. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
- ISBN 978-1486001385. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ISBN 1-877372-25-0.
- ^ Labour lose assembly majority as Law quits Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, ePolitix.com. April 17, 2005
External links
United Kingdom
- Charter 2010 – planning for a hung parliament
- Hang Em – a pressure group
- Hung parliament news Archived 28 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine, New Statesman
- Hung parliaments: What you need to know, Institute for Government (2010)
- Q&A: What is a hung parliament?, BBC News (8 March 2010)