Political party

Political party, body or organization that puts forward candidates for public office and contends for power in elections. Parties pose alternative programs and candidates and provide a means by which voters can make their desires and opinions felt.

The U.S. has a two-party system. In European legislatures, representatives are generally chosen under the system of proportional representation, which allows the election of candidates from a number of parties in exact proportion to their popular strength. If no party has a simple majority, a coalition is necessary. Communist states and many newly independent states have a single-party system in which the political party is in effect part of the state apparatus.