Abstention: Encyclopedia - Abstention

Abstention

Abstention is a term in parliamentary procedure for when a participant in a vote is not absent, but does not cast a ballot. An abstention may be used to indicate the voting individual's ambivalence about the measure, or mild disapproval that does not rise to the level of active opposition.

In the United States Congress and many other legislatures, members may vote "present" rather than for or against a bill or resolution, which has the effect of an abstention. In the United Nations Security Council, representatives of the five countries holding a veto power (including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and the People's Republic of China) sometimes abstain rather than vetoing a measure about which they are less than enthused, particularly if the measure otherwise has broad support.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Abstention", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstain, used and available under the GNU Free Documentation License.