Major party

A major party is a political party that holds substantial influence in a country's politics, standing in contrast to a minor party. It should not be confused with majority party.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Major party: a political party having electoral strength sufficient to permit it to win control of a government usually with comparative regularity and when defeated to constitute the principal opposition to the party in power.

— Merriam-Webster Dictionary online^[1]

Major parties hold a significant percentage of the vote in elections and claim higher membership than minor parties. Typically, major parties have the most donors, best-organized support networks and excellent funding for elections. Their candidates for political positions are closely watched since they have the highest chance of being elected to office because of the high membership, recognition and donations that these parties are able to generate.

Two major parties can lead to a two-party system. If there is only one major party, then it is a dominant-party system. In a multi-party system, a major party is one that occasionally controls the presidency or premiership and is the most influential party in a coalition government.

List of major parties

Country	Centre-left/Left-wing major party	Centre-right/Right-wing major party	Other major parties	Notes
Abkhazia	Forum for the National Unity of Abkhazia	United Abkhazia
Albania	Socialist Party of Albania	Democratic Party of Albania
Algeria	National Liberation Front	National Rally for Democracy
Andorra	Social Democratic Party	Democrats for Andorra
Angola	MPLA	UNITA
Antigua and Barbuda	Antigua Labour Party		United Progressive Party
Argentina	Front for Victory - Justicialist Party (Left-wing Peronism)	Cambiemos (Coalition of Republican Proposal and Radical Civic Union)	United for a New Alternative (Centre-right Peronism)	The Justicialist Party has produced both leftist and rightist presidents; Néstor Kirchner (2003–2007) and Cristina Fernández (2007–2015) were leftist, while fellow Justicialist Carlos Menem (1989–1999) was seen as neoliberal.[2]
Armenia		Prosperous Armenia	Republican Party of Armenia
Aruba	People's Electoral Movement	Aruban People's Party
Australia	Australian Labor Party	Coalition (Liberal / National / Liberal National Party of Queensland)	Australian Greens
Austria	Social Democratic Party of Austria	Austrian People's Party	Freedom Party of Austria
Azerbaijan		New Azerbaijan Party
The Bahamas	Progressive Liberal Party	Free National Movement
Bangladesh	Bangladesh Awami League	Bangladesh Nationalist Party	Jatiya Party
Barbados	Barbados Labour Party	Democratic Labour Party
Belarus	Communist Party of Belarus		Belaya Rus
Belgium	Socialist Party (French-speaking) Different Socialist Party (Dutch-speaking)	Reformist Movement (French-speaking) New Flemish Alliance (Dutch-speaking)	Christian Democratic and Flemish (Dutch-speaking) Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Dutch-speaking)
Belize	People's United Party	United Democratic Party
Benin	Union Makes the Nation	Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin
Bolivia	Movement for Socialism	National Unity Front
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Alliance of Independent Social Democrats	Party of Democratic Action
Botswana	Botswana National Front	Botswana Democratic Party
Brazil	Workers' Party	Brazilian Social Democracy Party	Brazilian Democratic Movement Party Progressive Party
Bulgaria	Bulgarian Socialist Party	Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria
Burkina Faso	People's Movement for Progress	Union for Progress and Reform	Congress for Democracy and Progress
Cambodia		Cambodia National Rescue Party	Cambodian People's Party
Canada	Liberal Party of Canada	Conservative Party of Canada	New Democratic Party
Cape Verde	African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde	Movement for Democracy
Cayman Islands	People's Progressive Movement	United Democratic Party
Chad			Patriotic Salvation Movement
Chile	Christian Democratic Party	Independent Democratic Union	Socialist Party of Chile Party for Democracy National Renewal
Colombia	Colombian Liberal Party	Colombian Conservative Party	Social Party of National Unity
Costa Rica	Citizens' Action Party (PAC)	National Liberation Party (PLN)	Broad Front	PLN defines itself as "centrist" but is generally considered to be more right-wing than PAC.
Croatia	Social Democratic Party of Croatia	Croatian Democratic Union
Curaçao	Partido MAN	Movement for the Future of Curaçao	Party for the Restructured Antilles
Czech Republic	Czech Social Democratic Party	Civic Democratic Party[3]	ANO 2011
Cyprus	Progressive Party of Working People	Democratic Rally
Democratic Republic of the Congo	People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy	Movement for the Liberation of the Congo	Union for Democracy and Social Progress
Denmark	Social Democrats	Venstre	Danish People's Party	The Danish People's Party is second largest party.
Djibouti	People's Rally for Progress	Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development
Dominica	Dominica Labour Party		United Workers' Party
East Timor	National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction		Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor
Ecuador	PAIS Alliance	Creating Opportunities
Egypt		Free Egyptians Party	Nation's Future Party
El Salvador	Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front	Nationalist Republican Alliance	Unity Movement
Equatorial Guinea		Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea			People's Front for Democracy and Justice
Estonia	Estonian Centre Party	Estonian Reform Party
Ethiopia	Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
European Union	Party of European Socialists	European People's Party	Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party
Faroe Islands	Republic Social Democratic Party	Union Party People's Party
Finland	Social Democratic Party of Finland	National Coalition Party	Centre Party Finns Party
France	Socialist Party	The Republicans	National Front
Gabon		Gabonese Democratic Party
Gambia	United Democratic Party	Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction
Georgia	Georgian Dream	United National Movement
Germany	Social Democratic Party of Germany	CDU/CSU (Union of Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union)	Alliance '90/The Greens The Left Alternative for Germany	The Free Democratic Party was a major party, having been in coalition with the ruling parties for most of the post-war era. However, the party failed to meet the election threshold at the German federal election, 2013 and is not currently represented in the Bundestag.
Ghana	National Democratic Congress	New Patriotic Party
Gibraltar	Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party	Gibraltar Social Democrats
Greece	Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza)	New Democracy	Golden Dawn	Until the 2012 legislative election, Pasok was the major party of the centre-left.
Grenada	National Democratic Congress	New National Party
Guatemala	National Unity of Hope	Renewed Democratic Liberty	Todos National Convergence Front Patriotic Party
Guinea	Guinean People's Assembly	Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea
Guinea-Bissau	African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde		Party for Social Renewal
Guyana	People's Progressive Party		A Partnership for National Unity
Haiti	Fanmi Lavalas	Haitian Tèt Kale Party	Truth
Hong Kong	Pan-democracy camp Democratic Party is the largest party.	Pro-Beijing camp DAB is the largest party.
Hungary	Hungarian Socialist Party	Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union	Jobbik
Iceland	Left-Green Movement	Independence Party Progressive Party	Pirate Party
India	Indian National Congress	Bharatiya Janata Party
Indonesia	Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle	Gerindra Party	Golkar Party and Democratic Party
Ireland	Sinn Féin	Fine Gael	Fianna Fáil	Fianna Fáil received the largest share of the vote in Ireland from 1932 to 2011, when it was returned in third place with just 17.4% of the vote.
Israel	Israeli Labor Party	Likud
Iran	Reformists	Principlists
Italy	Democratic Party	Forza Italia	Five Star Movement Lega Nord	Until 1992 the major party was Christian Democracy, which had been in government for five decades; the second party was the Italian Communist Party.
Ivory Coast		Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire – African Democratic Rally	Rally of the Republicans
Japan	Democratic Party	Liberal Democratic Party	Japanese Communist Party New Komeito
Jamaica	People's National Party	Jamaica Labour Party
Kazakhstan			Nur Otan
Kenya	Orange Democratic Movement	The National Alliance
Kirgyzstan	Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan	Ata-Zhurt
Kosovo		Democratic League of Kosovo	Democratic Party of Kosovo
Latvia	Social Democratic Party "Harmony"	Unity	Union of Greens and Farmers
Lesotho	Democratic Congress	All Basotho Convention
Liberia	Congress for Democratic Change	Unity Party
Liechtenstein		Progressive Citizens' Party, Patriotic Union
Lithuania	Lithuanian Social Democratic Party	Homeland Union	Lithuanian Peasant and Greens Union
Luxembourg	Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party	Christian Social People's Party	Democratic Party
Macedonia	Social Democratic Union of Macedonia	VMRO-DPMNE
Malaysia	Pakatan Rakyat	Barisan Nasional
Malawi		Malawi Congress Party	Democratic Progressive Party
Malta	Labour Party	Nationalist Party
Mexico	Institutional Revolutionary Party	National Action Party	Party of the Democratic Revolution
Monaco		Rally & Issues	Union Monégasque
Moldova	Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova	Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova	Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova
Mongolia	Mongolian People's Party	Democratic Party
Montenegro	Democratic Party of Socialists	Democratic Front
Mozambique	FRELIMO	RENAMO
Myanmar	National League for Democracy	Union Solidarity and Development Party		The military of Myanmar appoints 25% of the seats in the Assembly of the Union, the legislature in Myanmar.
Nagorno Karabakh	Armenian Revolutionary Federation	Free Motherland	Democratic Party of Artsakh
Namibia	SWAPO
Nepal	Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)	Nepali Congress	Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
Netherlands	Labour Party	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	Christian Democratic Appeal
New Zealand	Labour Party	National Party	New Zealand Green Party New Zealand First
Nicaragua	Sandinista National Liberation Front	Constitutionalist Liberal Party	Independent Liberal Party
Niger	Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism	National Movement for the Development of Society	Nigerien Democratic Movement for an African Federation
Nigeria	All Progressives Congress	People's Democratic Party
Northern Cyprus	Republican Turkish Party	National Unity Party
Norway	Labour Party	Conservative Party	Progress Party
Pakistan	Pakistan People's Party	Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)	Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Muttahida Qaumi Movement
Paraguay		Colorado Party	Authentic Radical Liberal Party
Peru	Broad Front	Popular Force	Peruvians for Change
Philippines	PDP-Laban	Nationalist People's Coalition	Liberal Party
Puerto Rico	Popular Democratic Party	New Progressive Party		Puerto Rico is the only territory within the jurisdiction of USA with different major parties from the rest of the USA.
Poland		Law and Justice	Civic Platform
Portugal	Socialist Party	Social Democratic Party
Republic of China (Taiwan)	Democratic Progressive Party	Kuomintang (Nationalist Party of China)	New Power Party People First Party
Romania	Social Democratic Party	National Liberal Party
Russia	Communist Party of Russia	United Russia
Rwanda	Social Democratic Party	Rwandan Patriotic Front
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	Polisario Front
San Marino	Party of Socialists and Democrats	Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party
São Tomé and Príncipe	Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe/Social Democratic Party	Independent Democratic Action
Serbia	Socialist Party of Serbia	Serbian Progressive Party	Democratic Party (Serbia)
Seychelles	People's Party	Seychelles National Party
Senegal		Senegalese Democratic Party	Alliance for the Republic
Sierra Leone	All People's Congress		Sierra Leone People's Party
Singapore	Workers' Party of Singapore	People's Action Party
Slovakia	Direction – Social Democracy	Freedom and Solidarity
Slovenia	Modern Centre Party	Slovenian Democratic Party
South Africa	African National Congress	Democratic Alliance
South Korea	Minjoo Party of Korea (Democratic Party)	Saenuri Party	People's Party
South Ossetia	Socialist Party "Unity of the People"	United Ossetia		Unity Party and Communist Party of South Ossetia were major parties before 2014 election
Spain	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	People's Party	Citizens Podemos
Sri-Lanka	United People's Freedom Alliance	United National Party	Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna & Tamil National Alliance
Palestine	Fatah	Hamas
Sudan		National Congress
Suriname	National Democratic Party	Progressive Reform Party
Sweden	Swedish Social Democratic Labour Party	Moderate Party (lead the Centre-right Alliance)	Sweden Democrats
Switzerland	Social Democratic Party of Switzerland	Swiss People's Party	FDP.The Liberals Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland	The magic formula system means that these parties are guaranteed representation in the Swiss Federal Council
Tajikistan			People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan
Thailand		Democrat Party	Pheu Thai Party
Togo	Save Togo Collective		Rally of the Togolese People
Transnistria		Renewal
Trinidad and Tobago	United National Congress	People's National Movement
Tunisia	Nidaa Tounes	Ennahda Movement
Turkey	Republican People's Party	Justice and Development Party
Ukraine	Opposition Bloc	Petro Poroshenko Bloc "Solidarity"	People's Front
United Kingdom (Great Britain)[4]	Labour Party	Conservative Party	United Kingdom Independence Party (major party in England and Wales) Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party (major party in Scotland, third party in the House of Commons) Plaid Cymru (major party in Wales)	From the 17th through mid-19th century, the Whigs and the Tories were the major parties. From 1859 to 1922, Liberal Party and Conservative Party were the major parties. Liberal Party is succeeded by the Liberal Democrats. Nationalist movements have major party status within the Home Nations of the UK.[4]
United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)[4]	Sinn Féin (republican)	Democratic Unionist Party (unionist)	Alliance Party (non-sectarian) Social Democratic and Labour Party (republican) Ulster Unionist Party (unionist)	Despite being part of the UK, the main parties in Northern Ireland differ from those in Great Britain. Sinn Féin does not take its seats in the House of Commons.
United States	Democratic Party	Republican Party		At various times during the 18th and 19th centuries, the Federalist Party, Democratic-Republican Party, and Whig Party were all major.
Uruguay	Broad Front	National Party	Colorado Party
Uzbekistan	People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan	Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party	Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party
Venezuela	United Socialist Party of Venezuela	Justice First	Democratic Action A New Era
Yemen		Al-Islah (Yemeni Congregation For Reform)	General People's Congress
Zambia	Patriotic Front	United Party for National Development
Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front		Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai

See also

• Minor party

References

1. Merriam-Webster Dictionary online
2. Neurer, Michael (2015-12-16). "Global Populism Takes a Blow as a Neoliberal President Takes Office in Argentina". Retrieved 2015-12-16.
3. Nový, Tomáš. "TOPka pomalu končí, otěže pravice třímá ODS, ukázal průzkum". Parlamentní Listy. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
4. "Ofcom Statement on Party Election Broadcasts". OFCOM. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2016.