Elections do not take place in a vacuum. Electoral administrators set up the framework and processes by which political parties, candidates and voters participate. Genuine participation in elections is essential to election integrity. Political parties need to field candidates so the process is competitive. Candidates need to campaign and get their political platforms out so they can win the support of voters. Interest groups work to motivate public opinion into supporting certain candidates or issues. And voters participate by discussing political issues, working on campaigns and voting on election day.
Participation is an important factor in democratic elections and, for a free, fair and credible election, must be done with same degree of integrity as that of election administration.
The major participants in an election are: Political Parties and Candidates; Interest Groups which are interested in influencing the outcome of the elections; public interest groups who watch out for the public interest (see NonGovernmental Organizations); and the Voters themselves. The participation of election monitors is discussed in Political Party Monitors.
