Majority government - Definition and Overview

In the Westminster System, a majority government is one in which the government enjoys an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or Parliament. This is as opposed to a minority government where one political party only wins a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from other parties in order to pass legislation and avoid being defeated on motions of no confidence.

Usually, a majority government refers to a situation where a single party enjoys a majority, however, it may also refer to situation where an electoral coalition of two or more parties enjoy an absolute majority. One example of such as an electoral coalition is in Australia where the Liberal Party and National Party have run as an electoral bloc for decades.

See also

• Coalition government