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.