Election integrity depends on a fair, impartial and transparent process for registering parties. There must be reasonable eligibility criteria, consistent procedures and workable deadlines. A party should be notified in writing whether its application for registration has been accepted or rejected and the notification should give the reasons for a rejection, as well as information on how to appeal the decision.

Most electoral systems require that political parties seeking to register provide information on their activities, membership and funding sources. This helps ensure the integrity of the process by making it transparent. However, if there are doubts about what information is needed or why, the requirement may raise integrity as well as privacy issues. The task of preparing complex reports and lengthy lists of members may be burdensome, deterring some parties from registering.

Eligibility Requirements

Most electoral systems have established eligibility criteria for party registration. These usually require a party to have enrolled a minimum number of voters as members, or even a minimum number of dues-paying members. If the minimum number is set too high, it can exclude smaller or newer parties from the process. If set too low, it may allow registration by parties with limited support, putting an unnecessary burden on the electoral system.

Typically, the charters of organizations applying for political party status are required to indicate their politically-related objectives and purposes, as in Canada where the party leader is required to submit a declaration, stating that the party’s main goal is to participate in and contribute to the public affairs of the country.  Often the applicant organization is required to disclose any profit-making activities, the extent of which would commonly be defined and limited by law.

In addition to the party’s Charter or declaration of principles, political party registration usually includes submission of the by-laws of the organization.  The by-laws describe the operations of the party, in terms of its general meetings (typically at least once a year), local chapters, and method of decision-making (viz., what decisions can be made at the national executive level, by chapters, or only at annual general meetings [AGM]).  To ensure that political parties are not unduly centralized and that their actions reflect the sentiment of their membership, their internal procedures – including for nomination of candidates and adoption of the party’s program (or “platform”) should be internally democratic.

Other criteria applicable to political parties may include such items as a party’s obligation to field a stipulated proportion of women candidates (as in Nepal, where the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, CPA, directed the parties to nominate more women in elections for the Constituent Assembly -- but implementation of this factor was not as such within the purview of the election commission).

Registration applications for participation in an election usually are accepted only within a specified period of time. Some registration rules require a financial deposit; but sometimes this is refundable if the party receives a minimum percentage of the vote or achieves election of a certain number of candidates in the election. The deposit is required chiefly to ensure that parties applying for registration are serious, but if the amount is set too high it could bar smaller or less affluent parties from participating in an election.

Protecting Personal Information

To register, parties must sometimes submit a list of their members’ names. The list may be checked by officials to ensure that the listed persons exist, are eligible and have consented to become members, or are dues-paying members. In post-conflict or transition countries, supporters—especially of opposition parties—may fear being publicly identified with a particular party for security or other reasons. (Members may also not want to be publicly identified for economic, social or other reasons.)

But many people around the world might prefer to keep their political party affiliation a private affair.  In New Zealand, for example, privacy issues are taken very seriously by the Electoral Commission. A party may request the Commission to keep membership information confidential. In general, the Commission does not release this information unless it judges doing so to be in the public interest, balanced against its responsibility to safeguard the integrity of the registration process.[1]

Categorizing Political Parties

Some countries categorize political parties when they register or later, when they register for an election or apply for public funding. Parties may be categorized by membership size, past electoral success or extent of geographic representation. To maintain integrity, such a categorization should be for valid reasons, such as for the purpose of determining each party’s share of free broadcast time or public funds for campaigning.  In some countries, such as Croatia, only parliamentary parties are eligible for representation on the election commission.

In India, for instance, the Election Commission categorizes each party by how long it has been active and how successful it has been in past elections. The classification determines whether a party is entitled to certain privileges, such as access to electoral lists and free airtime on government-run media outlets, as well as a party symbol. Symbols enable illiterate voters to identify candidates of the party they wish to vote for.

Registering Political Party Symbols

Electoral authorities may register party symbols (or “logos”), which are used for party identification and printed on the ballot in some countries, especially where there is an illiteracy problem. There are rules as well for registering logos; usually a party must submit its application before a set deadline and meet format requirements (e.g. concerning colour or size).  Party logos are often regulated in other ways, such as prohibitions on the use of nationalistic symbols or ones that might be offensive to certain groups in society.  Typically, a symbol will not be registered if it too similar to that of another party.

Logos are important in countries with low literacy rates because they enable voters to identify their candidate or party. For integrity purposes, standards for logos are usually included in the registration guidelines. The standards are intended to prevent discrimination against any party. As with party registration, the electoral authorities must give written notification of rejection of a logo, clearly stating the reasons for the rejection and explaining how to file an appeal.

Sometimes – as in Solomon Islands (which has a majoritarian election system) – logos are assigned arbitrarily, from a list contained in the electoral law itself or maintained by the election commission.  These symbols are not submitted by election participants, but merely a convenience for voters, especially those who are illiterate, helping the voter to select the right candidate or party on the ballot-paper.  While such logos are not intended to influence voters, it is nonetheless advisable that some open and random means (such as a lottery) is used to assign them.