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Aminor party is apolitical party that plays a smaller (in some cases much smaller, even insignificant in comparison) role than amajor party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so great that the membership total, donations, and the candidates that they are able to produce or attract are very distinct. Some of the minor parties play almost no role in a country's politics because of their low recognition, vote and donations. Minor parties often receive very small numbers of votes at an election (to the point of losing any candidate nomination deposit). The method of voting can also assist or hinder a minor party's chances. For example, in an election for more than one member, theproportional representation method of voting can be advantageous to a minor party as can preference allocation from one or both of the major parties.^{[citation needed]}

A minor party that follows the direction/directive of some other major parties is called abloc party or satellite party.

Countries usingproportional representation give little advantage to the two largest parties, so they tend to elect many parties. Therefore, in those countries, three, four, or more political parties are usually elected to legislatures. In such parliamentary systems, coalitions often include smaller parties; since they may participate in a coalition government, there is not a sharp distinction with a 'major' party. In two-party systems, on the other hand, only the major parties have a serious chance of forming a government. Similarly, in presidential systems, third-party candidates are rarely elected president.

In some countries like the United States, small parties face structural barriers to electoral success. These include as exclusion from major debates, little media coverage, denial ofballot access as well as hamstrung campaign budgets.^{[citation needed]}

Minor parties usually have little chance of forming a government or winning the position of head of government. Nevertheless, there are many reasons for third parties to compete. The opportunity of a national election means that attention will be paid to their positions and platforms. The larger parties might be forced to respond and adapt to their challengers, and often the larger parties copy ideas from them.

In theWestminster system there is also the possibility ofminority governments, which can give smaller parties strength disproportional to their support. Examples include theIrish Parliamentary Party which pushed for Home Rule in Ireland in the late 19th century.

Challenging parties also usually appeal for votes on the basis that they will try to change the voting system to make it more competitive for all parties.^{[citation needed]}

Minor parties inAustralia owe much of their success to theproportional representation method of voting for theAustralian Senate and one chamber ofthe legislatures of most states. This allows minor parties to achieve at least one quota in the electorate or state and thus gain representation in a parliamentary chamber. Often minor parties have been so successful in gaining such representation that they are able to hold thebalance of power in the particular house of the parliament. Some examples are theDemocratic Labor Party (DLP) in the 1960s and early 1970s, theAustralian Democrats from the late 1970s until 2004, and more recently theAustralian Greens.^{[citation needed]}

InCanada, theLiberal Party and theConservative Party are the two major parties at the federal level. TheBloc Québécois (BQ),New Democratic Party (NDP), andGreen Party are the largest minor parties, represented in theHouse of Commons of Canada. The BQ and NDP have often held the balance of power during periods ofminority governments.

Another 12 parties are registered withElections Canada, but have no seats in Parliament.

Germany uses a form of proportional representation for its federal elections, with a threshold of 5% to qualify for seats, or alternatively 3 direct mandates. Thus, there are many minor parties which regularly fail to reach the 5% mark federally. These include theFree Voters,Die PARTEI, theNational Democratic Party of Germany and theHuman Environment Animal Protection Party.

Minor political parties are commonly referred to aspartai gurem (gurem being the Indonesian term for a type ofmite) in Indonesia. In Indonesia's first democratic election in1955, over a dozen newly established political parties which participated in elections won just two seats or less in theHouse of Representatives. During most of Suharto's presidency, only three political parties participated in elections, but after Suharto's fall minor parties returned to the Indonesian electoral scene. In the1999 election, for example, out of 48 participating political parties only 20 political parties won any seats at the national level.^[1] Since the2009 election, aparliamentary threshold has been implemented in Indonesian elections, reducing the number of parties represented in the national parliament to ten or less.^[2]

The use offirst past the post in the United Kingdom means that in the post-War era, only two parties have had a majority in parliament: theConservative Party and theLabour Party. However, strong regionalist movements and the potential for parties to take votes in the centre or extreme fringes of the political spectrum mean that minor parties still play a significant and increasing role in British politics.^[3]

TheLiberal Democrats, and their predecessors theSDP–Liberal Alliance and theLiberal Party (the main opposition to the Conservative Party before the rise of Labour, forming governments six times between 1859 and 1918) have achieved significant numbers of seats and have occasionally beenkingmakers (such as during theLib–Lab pacts and the2010–2015 coalition with the Conservatives) and are sometimes also classed as a major party.^[4] The nationalistScottish National Party andPlaid Cymru hold a significant number of seats in their Home Nations, with the SNP controlling 56 of 59 Scottish Westminster seats at the2015 general election, and every single Northern Irish seat is held by a regional party – either therepublicanSinn Féin andSocial Democratic and Labour Party, or theunionistUlster Unionist Party andDemocratic Unionist Party.

In the2015 general election,UKIP won 12.6% of the popular vote, though only one seat. UKIP fared better in European elections, and from 2014 to 2019, was the largest British party in the European Parliament. UKIP was de facto succeeded by the Brexit Party, which also had great success in European Parliament beforeBrexit went into effect. The Brexit Party subsequently renamed itselfReform UK, which went on to win 14.3% of the vote and 5 seats in the2024 general election.

Other parties that have held seats in devolved assemblies, the House of Commons or the European Parliament in the 21st century include the non-sectarian Northern IrishAlliance Party, thefar rightBritish National Party, the healthcare-focusedIndependent Community and Health Concern, the cross-community Northern IrishNI21, the cross-community feministNorthern Ireland Women's Coalition, the anti-austerityPeople Before Profit Alliance, the left-wing Northern Irish unionistProgressive Unionist Party, the left wingRespect Party, the left wing nationalistScottish Socialist Party, the elderly interestScottish Senior Citizens Unity Party and the unionist Northern IrishTraditional Unionist Voice andUK Unionist Party.^{[citation needed]}

Whether or not a party counts as a major party is a sometimes heated argument, since "major parties" as defined byOfcom are entitled to moreparty political broadcasts than minor ones.^[4] Because of the regionalist nature of many parties, it is possible to be a major party in one part of the country and not another: for example, at one point UKIP was officially a major party in England and Wales, but a minor one in Scotland.^[4] No mainland British party is classed as a major party in Northern Ireland.^[4]

A minor party is also a special type of political party registered with theElectoral Commission in Great Britain that is able to contest only parish and community council elections in England and Wales and has fewer reporting, financial and administrative requirements than an ordinary registered political party.^[5]

In theUnited States, minor parties are often described asthird parties. Minor parties in the U.S. include theLibertarian Party, theGreen Party,Constitution Party, and others that have less influence than the major parties. Since theAmerican Civil War (1861–1865), the major parties have been theRepublican Party and theDemocratic Party. Since 1860, six presidential candidates other than Republicans and Democrats have received over 10% of the popular vote, although one of them was a former president,Theodore Roosevelt.^{[citation needed]}

• Frivolous political party
• Vote splitting

• Political parties
• Types of political parties

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