Two-party system
Topic: Political Parties, Party Systems and Anti-defection · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"; Class 9, Ch 7 "Elections"; Class 10, Ch 4 "Political Parties"; Class 11, Ch 3 "Election and Representation"; Class 12, Ch 6 "The Crisis of Democratic Order"; Class 12, Ch 8 "Recent Developments in Indian Politics"
Meaning
A two-party system is a party system in which power usually changes hands between two major parties. Other parties may exist and win some seats, but they find it hard to form a government. The first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting method, where the candidate with the most votes wins the seat, tends to produce two parties. This tendency is known as Duverger's law.
Example
The USA and the UK are the standard examples, since two big parties have taken turns in power there. The UK now also has strong third parties.
Don't confuse with
- Multi-party system: more than two parties can win power, often through coalitions, as in India.