Individuals having the right to participate as candidates in an election
(because they fulfill the eligibility criteria and have met certain additional
requirements) must formally notify the electoral authority. It is then up to the electoral authority to assess the acceptance or otherwise of candidate registration and announce the names of candidates for the election.
Registration with the electoral authority and the declaration of the
officially nominated candidates serves multiple functions:
- To permit the electoral authority to verify whether
candidates meet all the eligibility criteria;
- To formally
identify candidates standing for election;
- To recognize additional candidate
entitlements as appropriate, for
example, the potential to obtain certain
public funding for the campaign; media presence; use of local or public facilities etc.;
- To allow the
necessary administrative and other preparations to be undertaken to ensure the
smooth conduct of an election;
- To allow voters
to know with certainty the names of the candidates for whom they may vote.
As a rule, those who wish to stand for elections are required to fulfill
certain criteria besides having the right to stand for election. The purpose of
these criteria is to ensure that candidacies are serious and to prevent an
unlimited number of applications without satisfying minimum requirements to
compete in the election, which would only create perplexity and require
additional public resources.
a. Presentation of Candidates
Although various possibilities exist in different legal frameworks, usually
candidates are presented and supported by political parties.
The prevalence of candidate association with political parties is due to
reasons inherent to representative democracy, which not only aim at the fair
representation of citizens, but also at the formation of majorities with enough
electoral support to allow sufficiently stable governments. Political parties
respond to this need as they allow the integration of candidates and have the
means for political support above the constituency level.
The dominant role of political parties is not without criticism, most commonly
in consolidated democratic systems. Identified problems related to political
parties include: excessive influence or power of internal structures or
mechanisms; professionalization of those engaged in political activities, thus
hindering the emergence of alternatives; that sometimes political parties focus
on the single minded defense of their
partisan interests; a growing gap between politicians and ordinary citizens,
etc. However, these critiques should not obscure the irreplaceable role of
political parties. Rather, the dysfunctions of political parties should be
resolved in favor of the democratic system. In a democratic and open society, a
political party experiencing any such dysfunctions faces a dilemma; either is
it able to evolve and resolve these problems or public criticism will gradually
undermine the credibility and perhaps even the legitimacy of the party.
Furthermore, opposition parties would become stronger or, in the absence of a
satisfactory alternative, abstention would increase until the emergence of new
political parties or political groups to replace of dominate those resistant to
change.
In addition to political parties, it may be possible for a candidate to be
nominated by coalitions or groups of parties resulting in different formalities
and requirements in different countries. Contrary to what happens with
post-electoral alliances, coalitions and alliances formed prior to an election
may have legal effects, for example, the ability to prohibit parties that
comprise the alliance from presenting
their own lists of candidates in the same electoral constituencies.
The presentation of candidates who are independent from political parties or
coalitions is a third possibility. However, the degree of difficulty in doing
so increases in proportion to the level of the election and the size of the
constituency because of the greater complexity of preparatory activities and the financial
resources needed for the conduct of such campaigns. With this in mind, the
presentation of independent candidates is easier in small constituencies or in
regional elections, for instance at a municipal level.
It is certainly easier and more usual for independent candidates to compete in
local elections or in small constituencies. Exceptions to this rule usually
show that only exceptional economic resources (such as in the case of Ross
Perot running as an Independent candidate for the US Presidency) or highly
visible prior expertise (such as in the case of Vargas Llosa in Peru) allow
independent candidates to cross the barrier and gain voters’ preference in
competition with candidates included in party lists.
b. Selection of Candidates
The way candidates are selected in political parties is a very important issue
in a representative system. The constitutional role of parties obliges them to
respect stricter internal democratic rules than those governing other types of
associations. This aims to ensure that political parties have democratic
internal procedures, without prejudice to the elements of leadership (including
charisma) that are essentially present within political organizations. These
requirements may be set by different acts, depending on the historical and political
circumstances of each country. Nevertheless, in certain contexts it has been
observed as well that, “The selection of candidates at party level is not
always democratic.”[i]
One of the methods aiming to limit the undue influence of internal party
mechanisms is the selection of candidates for the various elected offices
through internal elections, either limited to members of the local department
of each party or open to citizens voluntarily registered as supporters of that
party. These two procedures for internal elections are, however, entirely
different. The democratic election of
candidates by party members can ensure a certain level of transparency and
promote open discussion on nominations. However, in reality, it is only a
guarantee of internal democratic participation open only to party members which
therefore leaves the nomination of candidates up to the parties. The second
procedure allows greater and broader participation given that it includes
citizens at large who support a political party and registering as such in an
ad hoc register.
Open nomination of candidates by party supporters is usually favorably assessed
by citizens of countries where the
nomination of candidates is still a monopoly of the party structure, even
though party leaders are rarely in favor of this selection procedure.
In most cases the role of political parties is simply critical as they, “often control
decisions about who will be nominated to run for office, what positions
candidates will be given on party lists, and who will receive support during
the campaign and after the election.”[ii]
c. Formalization of Applications
The formalization of candidates’ applications must be carried out objectively:
the purpose is to verify whether candidates fulfill the eligibility criteria
and once confirmed their names should be formally announced without delay. Any
fraudulent act aiming at limiting the number of candidates or impeding any of
the eligible candidates must be prevented. It is important for fairness and
confidence that the registration process is accessible and transparent and that
timelines allow reasonable time for candidates to complete the requirements.[iii]
The application must include the individual’s name and proof of identity,
nationality, age and enrollment in the voter register. The non-existence of
disqualification requirements (not having been deprived of the right to vote
and not satisfying any of the ineligibility criteria) may be proved with a
certificate of the relevant public authorities (for example, a negative
criminal record certificate) or even a formal statement and declaration by the candidate.
The above requirements should be justified by the legal framework of each
country. Thus, in order to justify age or nationality requirements, an identity
card, passport, civil registry or any other means of proof of identity shall be
sufficient.
In the absence of these documents, the legislative framework should allow proof
by other effective means. Official documents issued in the country (driving
licenses, census or municipal records, etc.) that provide sufficient proof
should be preferred rather than establishing new systems of documentation or
verification that can delay the electoral process and increase the cost.
It is common that the legal framework may require support of the
nomination of a candidate in the form of either the collection of signatures in
support of the nomination or a financial deposit or potentially both. It is important that in setting such criteria
should be set at reasonable limits so as not to impose a barrier to the right
to run as a candidate. It is also
crucial that any conditions are applied equally among all candidates and not in
a discriminatory fashion.[iv]
The legal framework must also allow the correction of formal errors or
omissions within the short but nonetheless reasonable deadlines that
characterize the preparatory phase of the electoral process.
A brief deadline for registration of candidates and a requirement to demonstrate that the candidate meets all the
requirements should not be considered unfair provided that this deadline does
not lead to discrimination of any kind.
Electoral processes often require that numerous tasks are completed
within short deadlines in order that election periods not become excessively
long.
The names and symbols used by a list of candidates (initials, emblems or
representative signs) are very important for their identification and
recognition by potential voters. Hence the misuse of a name by another
political group running for elections or use of a name so similar that can
mislead the public must be prevented.
As a rule, a list of candidates presented by a political party should bear the
name of the party unless the party is part of a coalition identified by another
name. The use of ambiguous names shall not be prevented for ideological reasons
but rather for reasons of identification: the electoral authority should not
assess the possible ideological confusion between two candidates but should
ensure that each candidate can be clearly identified by his/her name and symbol
without possible graphic, phonetic or other confusion.
d. Control and Objections
The control of compliance with the procedural and substantive requirements
shall be vested in the election authorities. It must be carried out according
to criteria that do not hinder participation in the electoral process and
facilitate the correction of material errors. This pre-electoral procedure
allows the reduction of errors that later cannot be corrected, in order to
facilitate participation and prevent election results possibly being cancelled
because of rigid or excessive formal legal provisions or technicalities. The
law must clearly set deadlines for the presentation of candidates, the
eligibility control and the declaration of registered candidates by the
electoral authorities, including with brief deadlines, if necessary, to resolve
material errors. Candidates should be afforded a fair opportunity and time to correct
deficiencies because only the most serious grounds should result in the
disqualification of a candidate.[v]
After these deadlines have expired, the election administration should publicly
announce the names of the candidates that meet all the requirements to
participate in the electoral process. The final list of candidates is usually
published in the official journal but other publication means can also be used,
such as publication of the candidates’ names on the press or in public places,
etc.
Candidates and all interested parties should have the possibility to lodge an
appeal against a decision of the electoral administration regarding the
rejection or declaration of a candidacy not only before the electoral
administration itself but also before the judicial authority (either ordinary
or specialized courts or other competent independent bodies such as a
Constitutional Court).
e. Proclamation and Publication
Official and public notice should be made of the names of the candidates that
will participate in the election. A list with the candidates’ names is usually
published on the official journal, on election authority websites, etc. After the resolution of any appeals
regarding the validity of candidacies or the expiration of the deadline to
lodge an appeal, the proclamation of candidates has the following effects:
- Determines
which candidates are competing for election;
- Determines
which candidates are entitled to public funding to cover expenses of their
electoral campaigns: use of public spaces or buildings, direct allocations,
reserved broadcasting time in the public media and other forms of public
assistance;
- Gives
way to the next phases of the preparatory electoral procedure: the conduct of
the electoral campaign and the logistical and preparatory operations of the
electoral administration including the printing of ballots.
[i] SADC and EISA, Principles for Election Management,
Monitoring, and Observation, 17.
[ii] UN, Women & Elections, 13.
[iii] SADC and EISA, Principles for Election Management, Monitoring,
and Observation, 17.
[iv] European Commission, Handbook for European Union Election
Observation, 49.
