As the numbers for the Tasmanian election rolled in on Saturday night, it quickly became clear neither Labor nor the Liberals would be able to form majority government.
But the Liberal party is projected to win more seats, with Jeremy Rockliff declaring victory on election night.
On Sunday, Labor leader Rebecca White conceded it was now up to Mr Rockliff to form government.
So now Mr Rockliff is tasked with gaining the support of the majority of parliament, from a minority position.
But what does this actually mean?
And how can the Liberals get there?
What is a hung parliament?
At Saturday's election, Tasmanians elected a hung parliament, which is when no party wins the majority of seats in the house of assembly, also known as the lower house.
This means no party has the mandate to form government in its own right.
The magic number of seats to form majority for this election was 18, as that would be more than half of the total 35 seats.
Currently, the Liberals sit on 13 and Labor are on 10.
In that instance, independents and minor parties — known as the crossbench — are called on to help one of the two major parties form government.
What is a minority government and why don't parties like them?
When there's a hung parliament, the incumbent government is given the first opportunity to approach independents and/or minor parties to try strike a deal.
If that party fails to get the majority of the house of assembly on side, the opposition may get the chance to give it a go.
In striking an agreement, crossbenchers may make policy requests in exchange for their support.
And there are different types of agreements, such as a coalition, where crossbenchers may be given ministerial portfolios in cabinet.
Another is a supply and confidence deal.
Guaranteeing supply means agreeing to pass the key bills authorising the government to spend money, while confidence refers to protecting the government against motions of no-confidence on the floor of parliament.
Governments generally prefer to be elected with a majority because it tends to make it easier to pass legislation, and means they don't have to enter deals with independents who may have different values and agendas from them.
Power-sharing arrangements tend to be a hot topic in Tasmanian election campaigns.
This time around, the Liberals repeatedly stated a vote for Labor was a vote for a "coalition of chaos" with the Greens, while Labor assured voters it would not enter deals.
But minority governments don't necessarily mean a parliament cannot function effectively.
In fact, they have been hailed as an example of "true democracy" because there are more checks and balances on the government.
How have minority governments worked in the past?
At the federal level, Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard led a minority government from 2010 to 2013 with the Greens and independents, in a written agreement with the crossbench promising supply and confidence.
Tasmania is no stranger to minority government — about a third of its governments over the past 150 years have not held a majority.
At the 2010 Tasmanian election, the Labor and Liberal parties won 10 seats each, while the Greens won five. This led to a Labor-Green coalition, with the Greens getting two spots in cabinet.
Tasmania's last government ended up in minority when Lara Alexander and John Tucker left the Liberal party to sit as independents.
While Mr Rockliff had an agreement with the pair to continue governing, he didn't believe the arrangement was working well, so he sent the state to an early election to try win back majority.
That obviously didn't happen, and he will now need to secure support from the crossbench.
We know Mr Rockliff has already reached out to the Jacqui Lambie Network and independents (he's previously ruled out doing a deal with the Greens).
Whether they take up his offer, and what they might ask for in return, isn't yet clear.
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2024-03-25 18:19:51Z
CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTAzLTI2L3Rhc21hbmlhLWVsZWN0aW9uLW1pbm9yaXR5LWdvdmVybm1lbnQtaHVuZy1wYXJsaWFtZW50LWV4cGxhaW5lci8xMDM2Mjc2NzDSAShodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTAzNjI3Njcw
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