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UK voters have returned a hung parliament after heading to the polls in a snap general election.
It's a stunning result, for a whole lot of reasons.
But if you haven't tuned in to UK politics since the Brexit boilover, this all might be a little confusing.
Let's break down how we got here.
Theresa May was *so* far ahead when she called this election
Despite saying she wouldn't do it when she took over as Prime Minister, Theresa May called a snap general election on April 18.
She enjoyed a lead of more than 20 points in some polls over Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
Pundits predicted she would win a huge majority, somewhere in the region of 50 to 100 seats.
Instead, it looks like the UK will have a hung parliament.
But she didn't have to call one
Not by a long shot, actually.
The Conservatives won a surprise outright majority in 2015 under David Cameron.
If she wanted to, Theresa May could have finished the rest of that term.
There wasn't supposed to be another election for another three years — May 2020.
So why call an election?
Brexit … officially anyway.
Ms May told voters she was sending them to the polls because she needed a strengthened hand ahead of divorce talks with the European Union.
She said divisions in the previous Parliament were putting those talks at "risk".
Unofficially, the pundits said Ms May smelled blood in the water as she enjoyed a massive lead in the opinion polls.
Labour and Jeremy Corbyn were supposed to lose a swag of seats, Ms May would have a mandate big enough to quash dissenters within the Conservatives to boot and the UK could forget about an election for another five years.
What happens to Ms May now?
It's a pretty disastrous result for her.
The ABC's Barrie Cassidy said Ms May's leadership will be under pressure if her gamble takes her party into minority status.
ABC News correspondent Steve Cannane said Ms May's authority has been undermined by this result.
"It undermines her authority in the party, it undermines her authority in the view of the electorate but it undermines her authority if she's to negotiate leaving the European Union," he said.
Right. So what happens next?
There are two big questions we can't answer yet:
- Who will form government?
- Will Theresa May survive?
As for the first question, it's now up to party leaders to negotiate to try to reach a 326-seat majority.
The last time this happened, in 2010, it took five days to hammer out the details between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
According to the BBC, Ms May has until June 13 to cobble together a deal to keep herself in power or resign.
As for the second question, it's all up in the air at this point - although the BBC is reporting she has no intention of resigning.
Conservative MPs have hardly given Ms May glowing endorsements in post-election coverage.
Mr Corbyn was more blunt, simply saying it was time for her "to go".
What does this mean for Brexit?
There are also doubts about whether Brexit negotiations can start on June 19 as planned, particularly in light of a hung parliament.
European Council President Donald Tusk, who will oversee EU negotiations on Britain's withdrawal, has warned that London faces a firm deadline to complete talks and that delays in starting them raise the risk of failing to reach a deal.
"We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end," Mr Tusk tweeted.
And what about the Scottish referendum?
It appears the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader's push for a second independence referendum has also backfired.
Nicola Sturgeon, who just a year ago seemed unassailable, lost 21 seats to parties wanting to keep the UK united.
Ms Sturgeon demanded a second independence ballot in March, in light of the Brexit result.
"There is clearly uncertainty around Brexit and independence which clearly will be [a] factor in tonight's results," she told Reuters.
"[There is] a lot of thinking for the SNP to do."
Best to pour yourself a cup of tea, keep calm and stay tuned
It's going to be an interesting few days.
Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, elections, community-and-society, united-kingdom
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