A hung parliament (also called balanced parliament) is an English term for a specific electoral distribution of a parliament with a two-party system or the First Past The Post system. This state of affairs occurs when no major political party (or block of parties) can claim an absolute majority of seats in parliament. In the case of a bicamera system and the government is only responsible for the first chamber, the term "hung parliament" is used only in relation to that legislative chamber. Most general elections in a two-party system result in an outcome whereby only one party succeeds in reaching an absolute majority. As a result, a new government can quickly and easily be put in place. A state of "hung parliament" constitutes the exception to this rule and is considered to be undesirable and abnormal. It is often the basis of an unstable government. One or both major parties may choose to form a coalition government with smaller parties. In addition, they can also decide to set up a minority government to seek political support from third parties or independent parliamentarians. If these attempts fail, the dissolution of the legislative chamber and a new election can provide for a last resort. In a multi-party system, it is a normal thing that, as it is customary in legislative bodies to vote with proportional representation, an election is followed by negotiations. These negotiations should then lead to a consensus that forms the basis of a coalition government. In view of proportionality inherent in such a system and an absolute majority of only one party here, so the exception is, the concept of a "hung parliament" is superfluous and not applicable here.
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