Editing Motion of no confidence (section)

{{Short description|Type of motion and vote in a legislative body}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

A '''motion''' or '''vote of no confidence''' (or the inverse, a '''motion''' and corresponding '''vote of confidence''') is a [[Motion (parliamentary procedure)|motion]] and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a [[legislative body]]) as to whether an officer (typically an [[Executive (government)|executive]]) is deemed fit to continue to occupy their office. The no-confidence vote is a defining constitutional element of a [[parliamentary system]], in which the government's/executive's mandate rests upon the continued support (or at least [[Confidence and supply|non-opposition]]) of the majority in the legislature. Systems differ in whether such a motion may be directed against the [[prime minister]], against the government (this could be a [[majority government]] or a [[minority government]]/[[coalition government]]), against individual cabinet ministers, against the cabinet as a whole, or some combination of the above.

A [[censure]] motion is different from a no-confidence motion. In a parliamentary system, a vote of no confidence leads to the resignation of the prime minister and [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]], or, depending on the constitutional procedure at hand, a [[snap election]] to potentially replace the government.

A vote in favour of censure is a non-constitutionally-binding expression of disapproval; a motion of censure may be against an individual minister or a group of ministers. Depending on a country's constitution, a no-confidence motion may be directed against the entire cabinet. Depending on the applicable rules, a mover of a censure motion may need to state the reasons for the motion, but specific reasons may not be required for no-confidence motions. However, in some countries, especially those with [[uncodified constitution]]s, what constitutes a no-confidence vote sufficient to force the resignation of high officeholders may not be clear. Even if the government is not constitutionally bound to resign after losing a given vote, such a result may be taken as an ominous sign for the government and may prompt its resignation or the calling of a snap election.

In addition to explicit motions of confidence and no-confidence, some bills (almost always the [[government budget]] and sometimes other key pieces of legislation) may be declared to be a confidence vote – that is, the vote on the bill is treated as a question of confidence in the government; a defeat of the bill expresses no confidence in the government and may cause the resignation of the prime minister and cabinet or the calling of an election.