Vote splitting occurs when a group of people (say
left wing voters or
right wing voters) vote for several parties and can let a third party win with less than a majority (also known as a
plurality). Recent examples include the US example of
Ross Perot weaking
Republicans , or the
Canadian example of
Reform+
Progressive Conservatives versus
Liberals.
In a
multi party system with a
house of commons, such as
Canada the third place party can often become a
kingmaker, by forming a
coalition government with either of the first two parties. It leads to interesting
politics.