The British general election has ended inconclusively with no party gaining an overall majority in the House of Commons, creating uncertainty over who will lead the country.
With neither the Conservative Party nor Labour winning the key 326 seats needed for a majority government a hung parliament has been declared - the first since 1974.
The Tories have the largest number of seats on Friday, gaining them at the ruling Labour Party's expense.
Hung parliaments are very unusual in Britain, but in the past the sitting Prime Minister has been given the first chance to try and find a way to govern - even if their party does not have the largest number of seats.
Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who was re-elected in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, has returned to Downing Street and says he will take all steps to ensure that Britain has a strong, stable government.
The BBC reports a coalition may be needed to form a government, with Nick Clegg, the leader of the third-largest party the Liberal Democrats, potentially playing a key role.
Although more than 600 seats out of a possible 650 have been declared, it is still not clear who is going to form the next government.
In terms of votes and seats, the clear winner of the night was the Conservatives who gained more than 90 seats.
Labour have clearly signalled their readiness to talk to the Liberal Democrats about a possible deal which would enable the party to remain in power.
The BBC reports Lim Dem sources, however, have stressed that Mr Clegg stands by his promise to give the party with the biggest mandate, in this case the Conservatives, the first go at forming a new government.
Mr Brown is expected to sit down with his aides once all the results are in to consider what overtures can be made to the Liberal Democrats, who made little gain in terms of seats won.
Conservative Party leader David Cameron says it is clear that the Labour government has lost its mandate to govern and his party should be proud of what it had achieved. "What is clear from these results is that the country wants change."
But Mr Clegg on Friday warned against making any quick decisions.
"I don't think anyone should rush into making claims or taking decisions which don't stand the test of time. I think it would be best if everybody were to just take a little time so that people get the good government that they deserve in these very difficult and uncertain times."
Meanwhile, Britain has its first Green Party MP after the party's leader in England and Wales won the the seat of Brighton Pavilion. Caroline Lucas beat her nearest rival, a Labour candidate, by more than 1200 votes, or a swing of just over 8%.
World share markets want a clear-cut result and fear that a stalemate could lead to political paralysis, hampering efforts to tackle the British deficit which is running in excess of 11% of gross domestic product.
Would-be voters turned away
Long queues were reported at some polling stations when they closed, and police were called after some people were turned away.
There were three-hour queues in Sheffield, ballot papers ran out in Liverpool and some voters were turned away in Manchester.
The Electoral Commission announced a "thorough review" as people were also turned away in London and Birmingham, the BBC reports.
