But polls show Conservatives now have fewer seats than they started with, winning 318 of 650 seats in the House of Commons - eight short of a majority, and 13 short of what they won in 2015.
In a blow to its hopes for another referendum on whether Scotland should leave the United Kingdom, the pro-independence Scottish National Party lost about 21 of its 54 seats.
It looks like she has chosen the second option.
A backlash against last year's European Union referendum result and concerns over a Tory-led "hard Brexit" may also have been a factor.
Minority governments are historically unstable as each parliamentary vote is easily lost. But the Brexit timetable has been thrown into jeopardy as the opposition Labor Party saw its vote share soar.
But now May will be reliant on the very conservative DUP.
"They are climate change skeptics".
European Union budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger said the European Union is prepared to stick to the timetable that calls for negotiations to start in mid-June, but also said: "Without a government, there's no negotiation".
While the DUP could be willing to support the Conservative Party.
Afghan police fire into air to disperse demonstrators in Kabul
High-ranking officials, including Acting Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, were present at the ceremony during the attack. They had been protesting against Wednesday's massive truck bombing which killed over 100 people and injured more than 600.
Who will be prime minister?
May's majority in parliament until the snap election was only held by 17 seats, but now she is at a considerable disadvantage.
Farron said May had called Thursdays election and gambled with Britains future out of sheer arrogance and vanity, adding: If she has an ounce of self-respect she will resign.. As election results became clear early Friday morning, May called for a "period of stability" during the country's challenging times.
The close result is a sharp reversal of the comfortable lead in the polls that the Conservatives had in April, when Ms. Though the move is widely considered a disastrous decision, May promised to see it through. Her manifesto launch was a disaster, with a flagship healthcare policy ditched just four days after it was announced.
"If this result plays out, Corbyn has defied all expectations and denied Theresa May a majority".
One Conservative candidate told HuffPost UK during the campaign the prime minister had "totally fucked it up". Anna Soubry, a Conservative MP, said May would have to consider her position.
The Labour leader, who survived an attempt to oust him by his own MPs before the election, now expects that he will be able to attract some of the party's biggest names to serve on his front bench.
For months Ms. May has been pursuing a "hard Brexit" strategy, calling for a complete break with the EU and replacing the ties with a Britain-EU trade deal.
Labour's election result should not be seen as a "famous victory" and was "not good enough", says former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie.
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