Abstention is the act of deliberately refraining from voting in an election or other decision-making process. It is often seen as a form of protest, or a statement that one does not support any of the options presented. ABSTENTION can also be used to express disagreement with the way a vote is being conducted, or to express a lack of confidence in the outcome of the vote. In some cases, ABSTENTION may be the only way to express a disagreement with a particular policy or decision.