Theresa May's snap election gamble, explained

Theresa May, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, decided on April 18 to dissolve Parliament and hold snap elections on June 8. The motion easily secured the required two-thirds majority in the U.K.‘s House of Commons.

The decision marks a stunning reversal and has surprised many people in her own government and abroad. May had repeatedly denied that she would make such a momentous decision.

In the U.S., we’re accustomed to a fixed electoral calendar. But, the power to dissolve Parliament is present in many political systems, such as in the Republic