What is a third party?
Q: What is a third party?
A: A third party is a political party other than the two main ones in any two-party system of politics.
Q: How does the electoral system affect the presence of third parties?
A: Countries with first past the post electoral systems tend to create a two-party system because successful smaller parties are rare, while countries using proportional representation have less of a tendency to create a two-party system because successful smaller parties are common.
Q: What do you call smaller parties that don't win many votes or seats in the legislature?
A: Smaller parties that only win a small percentage of the vote and no seats in the legislature are often called minor parties or fringe parties.
Q: Are third parties likely to win presidential elections?
A: Third parties are not usually likely to win the presidency.
Q: Why do some third parties run for election even though they're unlikely to win?
A: In an election, the two main parties listen to the opinions of third parties and sometimes copy ideas from them. Additionally, some hope that their support will slowly build over time and eventually become one of the dominant political forces, as happened with Britain's Labour Party.
