Definition of minor party
: a political party whose electoral strength is so small as to prevent its gaining control of a government except in rare and exceptional circumstances
What's Trending Now
More Trending Words
Recent Examples of minor party from the Web
-
Republicans are now a minor party in many California congressional districts, outnumbered by Democrats and independents.
-
But National did not win enough to govern alone, and the decision about who would become prime minister was left to the eccentric, populist leader of a minor party, Winston Peters of New Zealand First.
-
All minor parties will be keenly aware that after negotiations, their power tends to wane along with their poll ratings, as happened to the Socialist Left and Center after 2005.
-
The qualifying deadline for independent and minor party candidates is Jan. 9.
-
Neither of the main parties won a majority of the 120-seat Parliament, which means that National, with 58 seats, and Labour, with 45, will now try to court minor parties to form a coalition — a process that could take days or even weeks.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'minor party.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of minor party
1949
Learn More about minor party
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up minor party? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
