A multi-party system is a type of party system. A party system is a concept in political science concerning the system of government in a state where political parties exist. ...

Unlike a single-party system (or a non-partisan democracy), it encourages the general constituency to form multiple distinct, officially recognized groups, generally called political parties. Each party competes for votes from the enfranchised constituents (those allowed to vote). A multi-party system is essential for representative democracies, because it prevents the leadership of a single party from setting policy without challenge. A single-party state or one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system and form of government where only a single political party dominates the government and no opposition parties are allowed. ... Non-partisan democracy (or no-party democracy) is a system of representative government or organization whereby universal and periodic elections (by secret ballot) take place without reference to political parties or even the speeches, campaigns, nominations, or other apparatus commonly associated with democracy. ... A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. ... A political party is a political organization that subscribes to a certain ideology and seeks to attain political power within a government. ... Suffrage is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. ... Representative democracy comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein voters choose (in free, secret, multi-party elections) representatives to act in their interests, but not as their proxies—i. ... A policy is a plan of action for tackling issues. ...

If the government includes an elected congress or parliament, the parties may share power according to Proportional Representation or the First-past-the-post system. In Proportional Representation, each party wins a number of seats proportional to the number of votes it receives. In first-past-the-post, the electorate is divided into a number of districts, each of which selects one person to fill one seat by majority (or plurality) vote. First-past-the-post is not conducive to a proliferation of parties, and naturally gravitates toward a two-party system, in which only two parties have a real chance of electing their candidates to office. (This effect is known as Duverger's law.) Proportional Representation, on the other hand, does not have this tendency, and allows multiple major parties to arise. A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ... An aerial view of Parliament of India at New Delhi. ... Proportional representation (PR) is any election system which ensures a proportionally representative result of a democratic election, x% of votes should be represented by x% in the democratic institutions, parliament or congress. ... The first-past-the-post electoral system is a voting system for single-member districts, variously called first-past-the-post (FPTP or FPP), winner-take-all, plurality voting, or relative majority. ... A plurality (or relative majority) is the largest share of something, which may or may not be a majority. ... A two-party system is a type of party system where only two political parties have a realistic chance of winning an election. ... Duvergers Law is a principle which asserts that a first-past-the-post election system naturally leads to a two-party system. ...

This difference is not without implications. A two-party system requires voters to align themselves in large blocs, sometimes so large that they cannot agree on any overarching principles. According to some theories, this allows centrists to gain control. On the other hand, if there are three major parties, each with substantially less than a majority of the vote, two of them may find it necessary to compete for the support of the third. Some argue that this gives the third party inordinate political leverage. In politics, centrism usually refers to the political ideal of promoting moderate policies which land in the middle ground between different political extremes. ...

Look up Politics on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Politics (disambiguation) Democracy History of democracy List of democracy and elections-related topics List of years in politics List of politics by country articles Political corruption Political economy Political movement Political parties of the world Political party Political psychology Political sociology Political...

See also

• List of democracy and elections-related topics