HUNG PARLIAMENT: WHAT'S NEXT?

LONDON – Exit polls after Britain’s general election Thursday suggested the country could be heading for its first hung parliament since 1974.
Here are details of what would happen next if this were confirmed by full results, mostly due in by Friday morning.

* There are 650 seats in the House of Commons up for grabs at the election.
One party needs to win at least 326 to secure a clear majority. Exit polls indicate the Conservatives have won 307, Labour 255 and the Liberal Democrats 59.
* If this does translate into a hung parliament when results come through, Gordon Brown as incumbent prime minister will have the first shot at trying form a government – either as a minority or in coalition with others, probably including the Liberal Democrats.
* If Mr Brown did manage to do this, he would then go to the House of Commons to see if his government could survive a motion of confidence, probably after the state opening of parliament and queen’s speech on May 25.
* But if Mr Brown could not form a government or did not survive the motion of confidence, he would be expected to hand in his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II.
* The monarch would then be likely to invite David Cameron, leader of the main opposition Conservatives, to try to form a government. That, again, could be a minority or coalition administration.
* If no government can command the confidence of the House of Commons, parliament can be dissolved and another election held.
* One party governing as a minority government is a more likely scenario than a coalition because Britain’s first-past-the-post voting system means coalitions are rare, except at times of crisis such as World War II. (AFP)

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