De-registration procedures need to be in place for occasions where a political party or a candidate wants to withdraw from the election, or is forced by circumstances to withdraw, as well as for cases where the de-registration is not voluntary but decided by the Electoral Management Body or similar authority. To read about rules for registration of political parties and candidates for elections, see the file "Registration for Election and Nomination of Candidates".
De-registration practices have often been employed as a tool to oppress opposition parties and candidates. Therefore, the stipulation of clear de-registration rules is considered an important issue for democratizing countries.
If a candidate has been registered and the ballot papers printed, countries have different ways of dealing with the situation. For examples, read the file "Resignation, Removal, Death of a Candidate Before an Election".
Voluntary de-registration
A registered political party or a candidate may voluntarily apply to be de-registered for several reasons. If a candidate has been approved for the elections, but wants to withdraw his or her nomination just before the elections, electoral laws often stipulate the necessary administrative actions.
A registered party may often apply for de-registration at any time; however, a registered political party often cannot be de-registered during the campaign period of a general election. For voluntary de-registration, there usually has to be a formal application. Sometimes, the electoral law stipulates who has to sign the application to de-register, such as the party leader, a minimum number of party members, or the parliamentary party group. In many countries, the Chief Electoral Officer decides whether the application will be granted or not, possibly after having considered the reasons for de-registration.
Involuntary de-registration
Sometimes involuntary de-registration may be used as a penalty against political parties and individual candidates in case of serious infractions of the electoral law. De-registration of political parties and candidates is the strongest sanction and in liberal democracies only applied for very limited and well-defined infractions in order to prevent abuses of the sanction itself, e.g., to exclude bona fide parties and candidates of the opposition parties from the elections.
The party that is in danger of being de-registered often has a certain timeframe to respond to accusations. In particular, the de-registered candidate or party needs a certain time to appeal for reinstatement. Some candidates and parties may refuse to accept their de-registration for election, in particular if they are not aware of the reasons for de-registration. The appeals process is an essential part of a free and fair election.
Several reasons can lead to involuntary de-registration of a registered political party, generally involving situations where the political party is no longer able to fulfil the requirements defined by the electoral or party law. Examples are cases where:
- The party has failed to nominate candidates in time for election
- The party has failed to report in time about internal party changes, such as change of party name, logo, or replacement of party leader
- The party has failed to report financial transactions, such as election expenses and incomes
- The party no longer fulfills membership requirements
- The registration was gained through corruption or other unlawful means
In the case of candidates, de-registration can occur if the candidate for example
- Starts campaigning before he or she has officially registered as a candidate
- Campaigns during the blackout period (if any)
- Dishonours other candidates in the election campaign or in other ways violates important aspects of the electoral law
